HMFH Architects

Since 1875 elementary schools have stood on this site and this latest version, with reused doorways, beams and paneling, evokes the memory and spirit of its 80-year-old predecessor. The much larger replacement fits neatly into its half-acre site in a dense, urban neighborhood, by tucking the below-grade community level under part of the sidewalk and illuminating it with skylights in street-level bay windows. The roofline, setback and projecting bays all reflect the surrounding residential scale and students, teachers and neighbors all flock to the school for academic and community programs.