Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects has used the same prototype for three Baltimore County Schools.
The nearly 600 students who presently attend Red House Run Elementary School were already busting out of the tight seems of their classrooms. The Baltimore County school, originally built in the 1960s, was in desperate need of an update.
Five modular classrooms weren’t enough to hold the growing student population, and the school was next on the list of Baltimore County Public Schools in need of some attention.
Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects approached the project with the same care and attention they have given other school projects. What’s unique for Baltimore County Public Schools is that they’ve used a prototype created by the architectural firm for three different schools. The first was for Victory Villa Elementary, a project that was completed last year. In addition to Red House Run, the district is using the M&D prototype with Bedford Elementary School, which is in the design phase.
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In general, the Murphy & Dittenhafer prototype offers a student capacity for about 730 students. The design includes five classrooms per grade for kindergarten through fifth grade, with three pre-kindergarten classrooms.
“The prototype offers us a general template that can be customized based on the needs of each school,” says Lauren Myatt, Principal, licensed Architect and Project Manager at Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects. “It provides a lot of adaptability, especially for unique site locations.”
The benefits of a prototype
For Red House Run, the site presented some space limitations. Bound on three sides by existing roads and on the west side a small creek that runs through the site, the new building is being constructed on the current athletic fields. This allows the existing school to remain operational during construction. It will then be demolished, and the new athletic fields will be constructed in that location.
“The way the building floor plan can hinge makes it very adaptable to various site constraints,” Myatt says. Victory Villa was more of a tilted or angled bar, while Bedford and Red House Run have an “L” shape with a 90-degree hinge.
The construction is also very efficient. The two-story classroom wing is designed with steel columns and a grid to maximize flexibility with metal stud and gypsum walls. The single-story wing of the building has block masonry. The spaces that contain the gym and cafeteria are a bit more finite in their use, while the two-story structure allows for flexibility as needs may evolve over time.
A unique approach
There are also program considerations that Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects kept in mind with the design. Red House Run offers a regional, social-emotional program that incorporates four classrooms for children with emotional and behavioral needs.
The school also has an outdoor classroom that fits within a “U”-shape configuration of the building. This incorporates the natural elements of the property, including the creek, as well as offering a walking trail that’s accessible to the community.
The project also will achieve LEED Silver status, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The school will incorporate a sustainable storm water design, a geo-thermal HVAC system, LED lighting, and sustainable materials. All the classrooms are located along the exterior walls to allow natural daylight and views of the outdoors.
Impacting students
“One of the aspects I find particularly interesting are the common spaces seen when entering the building,” says Architectural Designer Bryan Wright.
Right in the center of the plan, the Learning Commons is easily accessible from all parts of the building. It offers areas for group instruction, storytelling, and some informal seating built into the walls, so that students can grab their book and find their special spot. The Learning Commons also has large two-story light wells that open up to the roof to allow for plenty of daylight.
“I hope the building, once constructed, will be efficient in use for all staff while maintaining a beautiful down-to-earth comforting aesthetic. We hope that all users, students especially, will enjoy every aspect the school has to offer,” Wright says. “In the sense of a school, it’s always a powerful reminder that there will be hundreds of end users, and we can impact students for years to come.”
As Murphy & Dittenhafer architects approaches 25 years in our building, we can’t help but look at how far the space has come.