High School of the Future

Narratives

Design Narrative

School of the Future - Engaging, modern environment on a standard urban public-school budget

The school is a state-of-the-art working example of this public-private partnership, featuring a progressive and research-based curriculum, integrated technology, and environmentally advanced architecture.

After three years of planning with the School District of Philadelphia, the City of Philadelphia and software giant Microsoft, The Prisco Group-designed ‘High School of the Future’ opened the doors on a gleaming white modern facility. The school resides on seven acres in West Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park and is aesthetically pleasing, technologically advanced, environmentally friendly and replicable throughout the world on a traditional budget.

Rooted in the principle of creating an empowered learning community that is continuous, relevant and adaptive, the School of the Future integrates research and development to insure cutting edge instructional methods. As a neighborhood high school, it will serve students from the West Philadelphia area, as well as provide opportunities for a percentage of students from the city at large. Located in the Fairmont Park, the School of the Future leverages and contributes to the tremendous resources the city has to offer and will become an integral part of community offerings. While benefiting those who attend, the practices, processes and learning will be shared throughout the district so that all Philadelphia students can benefit from this undertaking.

Adaptive Learning Environment

Although a technology rich and modern design school, the real chances are being made with the delivery of curriculum. The curriculum is designed to help teachers establish an adaptive learning environment, address individual student needs and evaluate progress in an ongoing manner. Students will move forward at a pace appropriate for their achievements. Students can create their own educational experience; a student focused on a particular line-of-study could graduate in three years or five, if that is what is appropriate to their learning style.

The environment also contributes to this approach of project-based learning with both large and small learning areas available for group or solitary instruction. In effect, the students take responsibility for their own educational success. Driven by new educational concepts, the architectural design creates an internal communication core - in a sense a school “street,” with direct access to “adaptive functional modules.” The idea behind the adaptive functional modules was to respond to future replications of the design elsewhere and therefore create adaptable self-contained spaces linked by structure. Each functional module can expand, contract or integrate based on the program requirements and the site characteristics.

In addition, the facility was designed in a manner that would provide open community access to the ground level modules - the performing arts area, the physical education center and the interactive learning center. The building and gathering areas are designed to promote interaction amongst students in on open, less rigid environment. This environment is achieved via various design elements including a grand streetscape within the interior that offers views into shared areas such as the Interactive Learning Center (Media Center), the Food Court and Fitness Center. Additional gathering areas include an outdoor amphitheater and cafeteria patio. These areas will create interactions that allow students to gain a sense of community; one they can collectively respect and want to be a part of.

General Classrooms

Classroom space is at the heart of any school. However, the general classroom spaces inside the School of the Future reject the “rows of desks facing forward” standard. All the classrooms are designed with a premium on flexibility. They liberate teachers and students from fixed seating configurations, supporting a variety of instruction methods and allowing a single room to quickly change and adapt. Each student will have a computer tablet that will store instructional materials, eliminating a significant amount of book storage typically required in a traditional school, It is anticipated that the school ultimately become a paperless environment.

Flexibility is also realized via wireless technologies. Every classroom provides each student with immediate and untethered access to the Internet. Combined with one-to-one access to tablet computers and other digital devices, these technologies will enable students to complete schoolwork, wherever and whenever learning happens.

Performance Arts Center

Auditorium spaces are an invaluable asset for schools. From plays and forums to readings and recitals, performances expose students to powerful expressions of the human condition and promote self-analysis. The Performance Arts Center showcases some of the more progressive ‘out of the box’ thinking incorporated into the school’s design. Auditorium spaces tend to require unique construction with higher dollar value and are used much more infrequently than classroom space, which causes them to be the most expensive real estate in a school. The Prisco Group wanted to make this typically underutilized space the most used area in the building from an educational and community point of view. At the back of the 500-seat, 8,500-sq.-ft. performing arts center, the sides are outfitted with rotating platforms that permit portions of the room to form large and completely independent teaching/ lecture areas that seat about 100 people each. The Performance Art Center is located adjacent to the Philadelphia Zoo’s overflow parking lot and segmented off from the rest of the school, which makes it more accessible to both students and the community. By being a more flexible space, the School of the Future’s Performance Arts Center is an example of how movable architectural elements can help schools do more with less and add value to the traditional auditorium.

School as Learning Tool - High Performance “Green” Design

The foresight of the School District of Philadelphia has extended even beyond the ambitious and exciting curriculum. To accomplish this task, the Prisco Group - architects, Delaware Valley Green building Council and Philadelphia School Improvement Team set a goal on building a new school that is LEED gold Certified. LEED is the benchmarking system developed by the US Green Building Council to rate a building as high performing based on a consensus standard that awards points in six areas; they are Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere Processes. Pending on the scoring success in each category, a building can receive platinum, gold, silver or certified label which is issued by the US Green Building Council. e “School of the Future” will be Pennsylvania’s first high performing LEED high school.

As a result, the School of the Future has many unique green, high performing features. Site design and logistics remain sensitive to the environment surrounding the site, including Fairmount Park, the Philadelphia Zoo, residential neighborhoods and wetland areas. Through support of The Delaware Valley Green Building Council, the State of Pennsylvania Sustainable Development Fund and the City of Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) there are several innovative high performance features to the school that received grants. Its performance will create a healthy and productive learning environment, while saving the School District of Philadelphia operational dollars. A system is in place that collects rainwater from various roofs, and gravity feeds it into a 30,000-gallon underground tank. This rainwater is then pumped back up to the school to be used for flushing toilets and urinals. This combined with other water efficient design is predicted to reduce water use by 60% as compared to a standard building. This feature received a $50,000 grant from PWD. An 11,000 sf vegetated roof on the school’s performance center will help control water runoff during rain storms and an ENERGY STAR roof and strategically placed shade trees will reduce the urban heat island effect. An additional $110,000 grant from PWD paid for the incremental cost. Over 40% of all wood used in this project was sustainably harvested as approved by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Superior indoor air quality will result from the use of low emission paints and materials and increased ventilation systems. During construction, more than 70% of all waste was diverted from landfills by recycling and when the school is in operation a comprehensive recycling program will manage the building’s waste paper, metals and plastics.

Averaging 900 square feet, each classroom features controlled daylight, consisting of available natural light from windows and supplemental indirect lighting to reduce computer glare. Windows are equipped with sunscreens with rollup shades and inverted integral blinds at the top 1/3 of the window to prevent sun glare and diffuse controlled daylight. These investments in optimal lighting are well spent. Studies demonstrate student performance on math and language tests increase more than 25% simply through the implementation of natural light.

The combination of excellent daylighting, high efficiency indirect fluorescent lighting, a well designed building envelope, and an innovative HVAC system will result in energy savings that are expected to exceed the current building codes (ASHRAE 90.1) by 49%. With financial support from a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Energy Harvest Grant and the sustainable development fund, 10 kilowatts of electricity will be generated from solar panels on the school roof and through building integrated solar glass panes. Through these and other features, the building will become a living textbook as students will monitor and analyze building systems as part of their learning process.

Siting the “School of the Future”

Understanding that site orientation becomes a major component in the success of the School of the Future, three major components where consider in siting the school:

1. The building must be sited in relation to urban / community features.

2. The building must be sited to complement the Fairmount Park/Centennial District Master Plan.

3. The building must be sited to optimize day lighting and sustainability, and minimize impacts on the natural resources all of which are part of the process of creating a high performance, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building.

Siting for Urban/Community Relations

Because the “School of the Future” is part of an urban area, the location on the site must be in tune and relate to the existing the urban grid. The building area that faces Parkside Avenue is designed to parallel Parkside Avenue to reinforce the expansion of community to the school site. The area between the building and Parkside Avenue is being developed as a “front yard” transition area for pedestrian enjoyment. Other elevations of the building are developed to reinforce the natural drainage paths of a major natural ravine that crosses the site and other elements of the proposed Centennial District Master Plan.

Siting To Complement Fairmount Park/Centennial District Master Plan

The school building is being sited to compliment the proposed Centennial District Master Plan. Building components are arranged to best relate to planned features of the park. Physical education spaces are logically located to access playing fields and the five kilometer recreational loop which shall accommodate the school’s cross county team. The location of the Performing Arts Center and a planned amphitheater reinforces the desire to maintain the natural drainage features. This location also allows for minimal site disturbance as well as provides direct handicapped access from the main parking lot. The main entrance is related to the planned 40th Street extension in the Master Plan to provide a point of entry removed from the traffic flow on Girard and Parkside Avenues. Creating community use space as part of this project, i.e. an Amphitheater, Performing Arts Center, Gymnasiums, and Interactive Learning Center, are included as points of interest that will attract visitors to the Park and the new facility. Future plans to renovate and restore green space in the parking lot along Girard Avenue support the Master Plan goal of creating a green space buffer along Girard Avenue and Parkside Avenue.
Siting To Provide Maximum Day Lighting and Sustainability

The “School of the Future” is striving to be LEED gold certified indicating the building is designed to meet the six areas of high performance: Sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere conservation, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovative design processes.

Through energy and day light modeling, the building is being sited to optimize daylight, energy use, mitigate the urban heat-island effect, and optimize sizing of HVAC systems. This along with thoughtful use of water such as a green roof and a rain water catchment system, conserving measures will create the optimal learning environment and enhance student performance and attendance while reducing the building impact on the environment and infrastructure of Philadelphia.

Siting The Building Design

The school is approximately a 162,000 square foot facility with an educational wing along Lansdowne Drive, a Performing Arts Center along Girard Avenue and a Gymnasium Suite along Lansdowne Drive. To minimize cut and fill required, the building is stepped into the terrain of the densely wooded and steep sloped area of the site. While the building is primarily a three-story structure, the extreme site and grade changes require the building to extend a fourth story into the terrain at lower elevations of the site. However, the building is designed to create a soft view from locations throughout the park and the Parkside residents. There are multiple elevation frontages to address different vistas and park views as well as to reflect the organic nature of the environment. The design concept was to create an interactive space for the students and the community by situating all social spaces on ground level that will create street escape with points of interest along the way. The Prisco Group, School District of Philadelphia, and Microsoft wanted to create a physical structure with an architectural design that complements the park and the historical community. Additionally, the building was designed to reflect the educational intent of creating a learning environment that is continuous, relevant and adaptive.

The 6i Development process - the planning process

It sounds so simple: teachers and learners need great spaces for teaching and learning. We all know that students and educators perform better in schools whose physical spaces are designed to foster collaboration, discovery, and inspiration. Designing these spaces - whether from the ground up or within existing facilities - requires an understanding of how learning happens and a clearer perspective on how physical spaces make it happen. Before we could build the School of the Future, the team developed this process to guide the development team and provide a framework for decision making.

INTROSPECTION: Before any large undertaking, schools should spend time examining their organizational structure and establishing frameworks for instruction and methodology. They must attempt to define their culture, project benchmarks, and success metrics. A tool known as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis can help you accomplish this task. By identifying these qualities, you can plan more effectively, mitigate threats and weaknesses, and maximize opportunities and strengths.

INVESTIGATION: Our team visited schools around the world to see what education-related methodologies and technologies have proven successful. Our efforts allowed us to see beyond our own limitations. We learned the importance of having a knowledgeable, outside perspective.

INCLUSION: This project-long stage identifies the many community stakeholders involved in building a school and fosters support. Over the fourteen months, we meet with community members of West Philadelphia as well as local assets, such as University of Pennsylvania, and Drexel, and other large industry contributors.

INNOVATION: While many wanted to start building right away, our team held off. We held off on technology development until we had made instructional plans. We held off on classroom design until we had determined methodology. This stage is rooted in the idea that we can always be better at what we do, and we must try constantly to improve. In this spirit, innovation thrives. Then, through careful consideration, we were able to determine what ideas had true educational value. Those ideas and only those remain. If something could not be mapped to a stage of learning, it was deemed a wasted investment.

IMPLEMENTATION: Constructing the actual building, training educators, and opening the doors to a new generation of students. Our 14 month construction schedule was considered to be aggressive. Everyone understands we will open in September 2006. However aggressive and unrealistic this may be, we are going to deliver on schedule.

INTROSPECTION: The nature of schools can make introspection difficult. We complete one project and rush to the next, with little time to ponder what we have just done. We must recognize the importance of debriefing and reflection. Introspection is the only way to ensure that our goals and success metrics are met.

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2) What innovations in the planning, programming and design process supported the realization of those exemplary ideas.

General Classrooms

Classroom space is at the heart of any school. However, the general classroom spaces inside the School of the Future reject the “rows of desks facing forward” standard. All the classrooms are designed with a premium on flexibility. They will liberate teachers and students from fixed seating configurations, supporting a variety of instruction methods and allowing a single room to quickly change from a lecture hall setting to a circular discussion group.

Averaging 800 square feet, each classroom features controlled daylight, consisting of available natural light from windows and supplemental artificial lighting to reduce computer glare. Windows are equipped with screens that can be easily raised and lowered to prevent sun glare and diffuse controlled daylight. These investments in optimal lighting are well spent. Flexibility is also realized via wireless technologies. Every classroom provides each student with immediate and un-tethered access to the Internet. Combined with one-to-one access to notebook computers and other digital devices, these technologies will enable students to complete schoolwork, wherever and whenever learning happens.

Site Design

Site design and logistics remain sensitive to the environment surrounding the site, including Fairmount Park, the Philadelphia Zoo, residential neighborhoods and wetland areas. Existing trees were surveyed and marked to clearly delineate which would be removed. All disturbed areas will be restored to their original condition. Most of the building components will be erected onsite. Even the school’s exterior will remain consistent with other neighboring structures, featuring white masonry with rock-faced and polished textures.

Starting at the school’s entrance, the Main “Street” corridor connects the gymnasium, library, and administrative office and is lined with clear, glass panels that provide full visibility into adjacent rooms. Above Main Street, stairwells lead to two floors of classrooms, several featuring folding walls that can expand the rooms up to double their original size.

Performance Arts Center

Auditorium spaces are an invaluable asset for schools. From plays and forums to readings and recitals, performances expose students to powerful expressions of the human condition and promote self-analysis. It is here where students are exposed to new ways of thinking and are encouraged to make connections between different disciplines.

The school features five levels, with the performing arts center occupying the lowest one. As in a traditional auditorium, the seating declines toward the stage, making the structure a perfect fit for a tract of graded land on a site that drops off 16 ft. vertically over 160 ft. horizontally.

The Performance Arts Center showcases some of the more progressive flourishes incorporated into the school’s design. Auditorium spaces tend to require unique construction and are used much more infrequently than classroom space. The Prisco Group wanted to make this the most used room in the building from an educational and community point of view. Toward the back of the 500-seat, 8,500-sq.-ft. performing arts center, the sides are outfitted with hydraulics that permit portions of the room to rotate and form large teaching areas that seat about 100 people. Lights on flexible hoists solve the problem of lighting a space that changes shape. The Center is located adjacent to the zoo’s overflow parking lot and segmented off from the rest of the school, which should make it more accessible to both students and the community. Through a more flexible space, the School of the Future’s Performance Arts Center is an example of how movable architectural elements can help schools do more with less and add value to the traditional auditorium. These solutions create new possibilities for both existing