LAN has received an Outstanding Project Award for excellence in educational facility design in the fall 2017 edition of Learning by Design, a premier source for education design innovation and excellence. The school was noted for its architectural and interior design and for having benchmark type attributes worthy of imitation. The Outstanding Project Award honors James Monroe Elementary School for its overall design that provides flexible and optimal learning environments for students and the community.
The 67,000 square foot, two-story facility was constructed on the site of the former school which was destroyed in a fire March 2014. The new 21st century learning facility is designed to provided modern classrooms filled with daylight and embraces flexible learning environments. The school provides instructional spaces designed around components of holistic design and color theory to boost student performance. Additionally, the school was constructed with a secure community wing for after-school programs open to the neighborhood. Construction was fast-tracked, in order to return displaced students to the own school, by using the footprint and utility connections of the former facility.
“In order to facilitate a faster pace of construction, LAN specified fiber reinforced concrete for the first floor concrete slab,” said David Pereira, LAN Construction Administrator. “This only required pouring of the concrete slab, in lieu of the traditional requirement of cutting and installing welded wire fabric prior to the concrete pour. Ultimately, this cut the concrete slab schedule in half.”
Learning by Design’s distinguished jury applauded LAN for its accomplishment in designing the James Monroe Elementary School. The jury was comprised of six judges where projects are measured by innovation, community need, interior design, sustainability, functional design, and 21st century learning.