Springfield High School, in the suburbs of Philadelphia, dated back to 1953, was well passed its expiration date. To replace that aging building, Springfield’s school board called upon architect Perkins & Will to design a new, 230,000-sf facility that is separated into three zones—academic, physical education, and visual and performing arts—within somewhat smaller footprint.
Construction of this three-story project—which sits on a former baseball field and had been in the works since 2009—began in 2018, at an estimated cost of $130 million, and opened for 1,500 students in 2021. The project’s Building Team included E.R. Stuebner (GC), Boro Construction (ME and EE), and Stan-Roch Plumbing (PE).
The exterior design of the new school is distinguished by an outer shell of curving beige brick and glass. Daylight fills the school’s wood-paneled hallways and ceilings, as well as its open learning commons that are placed strategically throughout the academic zone to allow for informal student interactions.
The school highlights a popular recent design trend by allowing its library to “spill” into its cafeteria, thereby creating another informal learning area. (The cafeteria and auditorium can be used for public events, too.
![The library on the second floor connects with the cafeteria on the first.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/SpringfieldHS_tm_in_14_A%2A.jpg)
Common spaces open directly onto the large courtyard, whose inner periphery is made up of glass and metal panels that separate it from the outer space. This flexibility accommodates a range of activities, and connects the facility to the surrounding community.
MULTIFUNCTIONAL SPACES
![The school's playing fields are positioned as extensions of nearby parks.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/SpringfieldHS_tm_ae_32_A-1%2A.jpg)
Because of its smaller footprint, the school’s most heavily used spaces—such as its lobby, cafeteria, and courtyard—are set up for greater efficiency. For example, the cafeteria can serve as “pre-function” space for the gym and for community space during evening hours. The school’s gyms open to each other, and therefore can handle overflow seating during events.
The smaller building is also more energy efficient, and allows for easier sharing of amenities. And by focusing density closer to the town’s urban core, the school’s playfields are positioned as virtual extensions of nearby Whiskey Run Creek and Spring Valley Park.
![Classrooms are designed to encourage collaboration.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/SpringfieldHS_tm_in_111_A%2A.jpg)
![One of the school's collaborative areas.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/SpringfieldHS_tm_in_106_A.jpg)
The new school is within walking distance of the town, and adjacent to public transportation. Indeed, the school is organized to provide access to the public: the auditorium, for example, is located off the main entrance so it can be used by the community for non-school events. Practice fields are open to the public. And in phase two of this redevelopment, the site of the old school will become a green space in the heart of the town’s residential area.
![The school wraps around a large courtyard](/sites/default/files/inline-images/SpringfieldHS_tm_ex_36_A%2A.jpg)
![The interior walls and ceilings are wood paneled.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/SpringfieldHS_tm_in_06_A%2A.jpg)
Related Stories
| Sep 11, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 3 coverage
Day 3 coverage of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo, taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Sep 10, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 2 coverage
The BD+C editorial team brings you this real-time coverage of day 2 of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Sep 4, 2013
K-12 school design that pays off for students
More and more educators are being influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach to pedagogy, with its mantra of “environment as the third teacher”—an approach that gives Building Teams a responsibility to pay even closer attention to the special needs of today’s schools.
| Sep 3, 2013
'School in a box' project will place school in San Diego public library
Thinking outside the box, LPA Inc. is designing a school inside a box. With an emphasis on three E’s—Engage, Educate, and Empower—e3 Civic High is now being constructed on the sixth and seventh floors of a public library in downtown San Diego. Library patrons will be able to see into the school via glass elevators, but will not have physical access to the school.
| Aug 30, 2013
Modular classrooms gaining strength with school boards
With budget, space needs, and speed-to-market pressures bearing down on school districts, modular classroom assemblies are often a go-to solution.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 14, 2013
Five projects receive 2013 Educational Facility Design Excellence Award
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) has selected five educational and cultural facilities for this year’s CAE Educational Facility Design Awards.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 12, 2013
New York’s first net-zero school will be a sustainability lab for city school system
An elementary school on Staten Island will be the first net-zero energy school in New York City and the Northeast. The school is designed to use half the energy of a typical New York public school. Construction will be completed in 2015.