Project Description
At Percy L. Julian and T.G. Barr Elementary Schools, we were given the unique opportunity to reinvent two existing and aging campuses. Both facilities were schools serving approximately 430 students that are now consolidated into schools serving approximately 800 students. The District is repurposing two other schools that currently house 350 students each and moving those students to Julian and Barr. When the work is complete, Roosevelt will have reduced considerable inefficiencies in the District.
In order for this to work, new buildings were built on the existing fields at each campus while school was still in session in the existing buildings. When the new structures were completed, the old buildings (except the existing multi-purpose buildings) were demolished and new fields built in their place. As with all projects of this type, success depended on open and constant communication between all the involved parties. Students were kept safe while construction was underway, staff members were kept aware of miscellaneous utility shut downs, and the contractor kept any interruptions to the educational process to a minimum.
The school received Honorable Mention in the 2012 ARCHITECT Magazine Annual Design Review.