The client for this project was a Chicago Montessori school.  We were asked to design a school in Wicker Park along Milwaukee Ave. just south of Division St., a rather busy main thoroughfare.  The school needed to accommodate 200 students in 8 classrooms; 25 students per room.  3 classrooms were required for ages 3-6, 3 rooms for ages 7-9, and 2 rooms for ages 10-12.  Also included in the requirements were a multi purpose space, library, multiple labs, a kitchen, storage, space for administration, and a rooftop playground.  In addition to the school, there also needed to be a street level  retail space, separated from the school as per the Chicago Building Code.  The one requirement as far as building method was that the main structure be of concrete.

I proposed a building that focused on the ability of the children to roam and interact with one another, and their overall comfort in the space.  The multi purpose space is on the top floor, and opens out to the playground.  Ages 3-6 are on the 4th floor, ages 6-9 areon the 3rd floor and ages 10-12 and the administration are on the 2nd level.  All levels of the school are connected with a large atrium in the center of the building and a continous ramp/stair that leads up to the playground.  Labs and the library are in the form of shelves throughout the circulation space, so that each and every child is in close proximity to the materials that they may need. Also, each classroom has access to outdoor space just outside the classroom. The building is clad with precast concrete panels and glass.  The retail space, a bookstore as I envision its use, is clad with glass and set back a few feet from the upper facade, giving the space its own identity, as well as giving a sense that the school above is “floating”.