PROJECT Westbrook Elementary School

LOCATION  Bethesda, Maryland US

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  8/1/2013

ARCHITECT Muse Architects

ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT  

OWNER/CLIENT 

CONTRACTOR / CONSTRUCTION MANAGER  Hess Construction

PHOTOGRAPHER  Eric Taylor Photography

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  William Kirwan AIA, LEED® AP

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

This project is a 44,000 square foot addition to Westbrook Elementary School. The original portion of the school was built in 1938 as a New Deal work project. Two additions were built in 1946 and 1954 that added additional classroom space and a Multi-purpose Room. This 21st century state-of-the-art addition includes Kindergarten classrooms, Grade 1-5 classrooms, a Gymnasium, Music and Art classrooms, and renovations to the existing Multi-purpose Room. Three additional classrooms were planned for within the addition in order to accommodate projected future enrollment. The scale and massing of the design were a response to the context of the residential neighborhood.

The addition was positioned to mitigate various environmental constraints all around the existing building that include stream buffers, a 100-year flood plain, and specimen trees. The addition was conceived as a three-story brick structure about a courtyard in order to minimize the footprint on a site with very limited buildable area. The addition is rendered in simple volumes of brick, shingle roofs, with traditionally detailed windows and doors, in respect to the historic brick school house and surrounding residential neighborhood.

The design process involved a series of community meetings to ensure that the changes to the school would cohere with the community’s wishes and input. There was substantial involvement in the planning of the playground, as this space would serve not only the students, but also the local community.

While the project was not formally LEED certified, it employs sustainable design strategies, materials, and construction practices, that parallel LEED Silver requirements.

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project/Jury PDF

IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS

IMAGE 1  View of West Facade and Kindergarten Loggia, © Eric Taylor, EricTaylorPhoto.com

IMAGE 2  View of West Facade and Kindergarten Loggia, © Eric Taylor, EricTaylorPhoto.com

IMAGE 3  Hall, © Eric Taylor, EricTaylorPhoto.com

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