HMFH Architects
Claiborne Pell
Elementary School
Newport, RI
In response to the city’s effort to consolidate resources and move children out of aging, inadequate school buildings, HMFH designed an elementary school complex to educate all of Newport’s PK-4 students.
Designed to take advantage of maximum daylight, the school also incorporates light shelves, sloped ceilings, and daylight dimming and low-wattage light fixtures that significantly lower the building’s energy consumption.
- Students 865
- Grades PK-4
- Size 105,565 ft2
The two-story structure is divided into a PK-1 lower school and a grade 2-4 upper school. Supported by a shared central core of administration, cafetorium, gym and media center, each wing has its own dedicated specialty and support spaces, including art and music, as well as a cozy, shared activity center in the kindergarten corridor that teachers can use for stories, performances, hosting special visitors and other activities.
