Sage Point Elementary School

1. 2010 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture Sage Point Elementary School Moses Lake, Washington New Construction Elementary School NAC|Architecture

2. Sage Point Elementary School Main Exterior Image

3. Sage Point Elementary School

4. Playground Community Environment: Moses Lake is a relatively small community in which the majority of people grew up within the Moses Lake School District. As such, there is a strong bond between the community and its schools, which meant community members were eager to be involved in this new elementary school project as early as bond planning and architect selection.

5. Library Community Environment: It had been more than 10 years since the district had built a new school building, so all participants in the process were energized and passionate about making careful and prudent decisions to ensure high quality, short- and long-term economic value, and a modern learning environment that would provide opportunity for educational excellence for the current and many future generations of Moses Lake children.

6. Classroom Learning Environment: In order to address the needs of all students, this new 46,851-square-foot elementary school in Moses Lake, Washington, includes 17 mainstream classrooms, a Title 1 classroom, a dedicated computer lab, a spacious library, a resource classroom, and DLC self-contained suite for special education, as well as a host of special-service and support spaces. A music room, which doubles as a stage, and a sizable gymnasium sandwich the multipurpose room, providing dramatic and functional event space for community use. The building is a looped corridor scheme with all classrooms located along the north and south sides to ensure maximum daylighting.

7. Computer Lab Learning Environment: In the middle of the loop is a generous courtyard with a large grass area for controlled outdoor educational opportunities and small nooks in each corner that create outdoor classrooms. The building is infused with modern teaching technology, such as networked data, ceiling-mounted projectors, sound projection systems and interactive white boards in each room.

8. Entrance Physical Environment: The building design theme is derived from one of the region’s geologic treasures that occurs generally south of the lake – the Moses Lake Sand Dunes. The dunes feature two striking personalities: there are the traditional rolling, wind-blown sand dunes and there are dunes that have been overgrown with vegetation. The dunes are geologically vital to the existence of the lake in that they form a dam to contain it. Likewise, the lake is geologically vital to the existence of the dunes in that the lake sustains the vegetation that holds the sand in place. Because of the dunes’ rich character and their broad importance to the Moses Lake community NAC|Architecture chose to draw inspiration from them.

9. Classrooms Physical Environment: The functional building program is divided into traditional classroom-style teaching spaces that are symbolized by the colorfully invigorating vegetated dunes, composed predominantly of cool greens and blues with accents of yellow, red and orange reminiscent of brightly hued flowers. All other spaces (administration, library, gymnasium, music, multipurpose, kitchen, corridors, restrooms, etc.) borrow imagery from the more earthy, warmly colored, undulating sandy dunes, then accented with blues and greens strategically located to draw the building users into the classroom spaces. The colors and textures of the dunes influenced the selection of finishes, and are artistically interpreted into the physical forms of the architecture as well as into site features such as paving patterns and undulating concrete benches. Landscaping is sensitive to the local climate by utilization of native species of grasses and punctuated by locally indigenous sage – the latter tying the site to the Sage Point building name. The facility meets the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP).

10. Administration Planning Process: Project planning involved many meetings with an advisory committee comprised of faculty and community members, and initial design concepts were developed through a charrette process with these constituents. In addition, regular presentation of the design evolution occurred at school-board public meetings to solicit continued input from the community. Numerous community business leaders, parents and students attended these meetings and provided invaluable insight on their priorities.

11. Main Entrance Planning Process: Themes that emerged as imperatives of all stakeholders included proper implementation of teaching technology and planning for its future evolution, adequately sized and outfitted classrooms, convenient access to special educational services, security and safety, economy, sustainability and energy conservation, internalized circulation (the older elementary schools had no corridors – all circulation was outdoors), and a warm and inviting aesthetic that fit in with the single-family residential character of the neighborhood.

12. Floor Plan

13. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2010 Project Data

14. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2010 Project Details