Collaborative design helps students in Washington, D.C. make the grade

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1695753383\/c9uhvxftqhc5jk4n70qy.tiff","id":"6671914"}],"caption":"All signage inside DC Bilingual Public Charter School are in Spanish and English."}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1695752868\/sitkssbhvf3nzi1dovqm.png","id":"6671908"}],"caption":"L to R: Casey Smith, AIA, Margaret Gaggioli-Prichard, AIA, and Chris Peterson, AIA"}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1695753572\/j0un8o0zbfimoqm2qtu1.tiff","id":"6671921"}]}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1695753744\/wsre9lfn9kcs3m25ksyd.tiff","id":"6671923"}]}]],"markups":[["b"]],"sections":[[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"Enrollment is up. Staff retention\nis solid, and test scores for D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School students are\nat a record high. The head of school credits a collaborative renovation and\ncohesive addition, designed by architects from Baltimore-based firm Hord,\nCoplan, Macht, for creating a space that fosters community and connection,\ncelebrates culture and identity, and provides a safe, joyful environment for students\nto succeed. The architects who led the project give insight into the planning process."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Students\nat D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School spend half of their day learning in Spanish\nand the other half in English. Culture\nand community, says Daniela Anello, head of school, are the foundations of\nevery lesson."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cSince\nwe are bilingual, the Latin American and Hispanic heritage is naturally infused. There is this beautiful mix of cultures and traditions shared,\nand cultures from across the world are represented,\u0022 said Anelo. \u0022We make sure everyone can\nbring their full self, and all values and cultures are treated with the upmost\nrespect.\u201d"]]],[10,0],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The\nsame respect and intention were given during the planning process for the school\u2019s\nrecent renovation. Architects on the project hosted bilingual programming\nmeetings, which included virtual town halls, staff and student surveys, and\npresentations to the school\u2019s staff, faculty, and Board of Directors."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cWorking\nwith the firm was an opportunity to feel heard and understood. They used design\nto meet needs in ways we never imagined,\u201d said Anello. \u201cWe have developed a building\nspace that is incredibly suited to give kids a well- rounded experience, from\nthe core content areas to music, art, technology, library, dance, and cooking\nand gardening.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Outisde its revamped building, students grow the second largest school garden in the city. The garden serves as\nan outdoor lab for lessons in agriculture, science, and math instruction, and helps\nprovide the fruits, vegetables, and canned goods offered to the community at a\nfree monthly food market the school hosts with an area food bank. The garden also\nsupports cooking lessons in the school\u2019s kitchen lab, a gift from chef Emeril\nLagasse, where the school hosts family cooking nights."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Anello\nappreciates how the reimagined school has become a gathering space for students,\nas well as neighbors who use the building after hours, on weekends, and during summers\nfor church services, camps, club meetings, and town halls."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cWe\nare in a neighborhood where there are not a lot of spaces for people to host meetings.\nWe want to be very welcoming to the community, so in the design, we kept in\nmind safe entry and exit for weekends and evenings,\u201d she said."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"But\nAnello is most proud of the impact the space is having on the students. The school currently\nranks as the highest performing elementary charter school in math, and its\nother standardized test scores suggest the redesign and addition are contributing\nto better learning. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cOur\nstudents performed higher academically than ever before in the history of the school,\nand we can say that has to do with a number of factors, but one of the factors\nis that they are in a space well suited for them to learn the best that they\ncan,\u201d said Anello. "]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"Hord, Coplan, Macht architects Casey\nSmith, AIA, principal, Margaret Gaggioli-Prichard, AIA, associate, and Chris\nPeterson, AIA, associate, led the work at DC Bilingual Public Charter School\nand share some of the project\u2019s goals and inspiration."]]],[10,1],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"What were the main goals\nof the project?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Casey Smith:"],[0,[],0," The 27,000 SF addition was constructed to accommodate D.C.\nBilingual\u2019s continued growth and goal to double its student population by\n2027. Beyond the necessity of 12\nadditional classrooms, expanded shared program spaces were also required to\nensure all students are properly served \u2013 such as a new art classroom, media\ncenter, community commons, and a variety of outdoor play spaces. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"What\nfeedback stood out most from the community during planning?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Margaret\nGaggioli-Prichard: "],[0,[],0,"The thoughtful programmatic needs defined by the school and community, based on their core values and ethose. We provided two teaching walls in the\nclassrooms \u2013 one led in Spanish and one in English, allowing the class to alternate\nthroughout the day. That was a unique design exercise that is not typically\nprovided in most standard schools. The school was also very centered on students\nwho have different needs. Two studio classrooms were provided for students who\nhave special learning accommodations or who learn better in smaller scale environments. Those were part of\nthe larger DSSS suite \u2013 their Department of Student Support Services, housed in the new addition. It is a unique but\nthoughtful program: a series of spaces where students and teachers can meet one\non one to focus on the student in a less formal setting. And after hearing parents\u2019\nfeedback , gender neutral restrooms were\nprovided in the addition. We received great feedback from that. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"What changes to the\nredesign made the building more sustainable?"]]],[10,2],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Casey Smith"],[0,[],0,": All the new primary learning spaces have\nample daylight and light fixture controls which help contribute to a\nsignificant reduction in the building\u2019s energy use. The addition also provided us with an\nopportunity to reduce the quantity and improve the quality of storm water on\nsite. We achieved this by utilizing an intensive vegetated roof area and\ncreating new linear bioretention gardens alongside the building. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"How\ncan the students learn from the building?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Chris\nPeterson: "],[0,[],0,"There is the\nopportunity to teach how things evolve over time. Right when you walk in, there\nis the stone water table of the existing building and the brick, which is in plain\nview. You can very clearly see what\u2019s new and what\u2019s old, so there is a\ncelebration of the history and of the future that lets teachers point out, \u201cHey\nlook, this has been here for 100 years and now we\u2019re in something brand new!\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"What considerations are\nmost personal when you design schools?"]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,3],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Margaret Gaggioli-Prichard:\n "],[0,[],0,"Do students feel secure, do they feel supported, and at the\nend of the day, do they feel joyful? Security was identified as a design priority, as that was one of the important\nfactors the school challenged us to consider. We provided a new secure entry vestibule from the parking\nlot, so drop off and pick up is situated\npurposefully between the historic building\nand the new building, allowing occupants to feel secure and welcome upon\narrival. For students to feel supported, all the elements the school highlighted\nlike gender neutral bathrooms, double bilingual teaching walls in classrooms, studios with smaller class sizes, and bilingual\nindoor and outdoor signage helps students feel supported and meet their goals. All of these provide the setting in which there are opportunities for students to succeed,\nfeel joyful, and learn to value all cultures and citizens."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"What design elements\nmost reflect the Hispanic culture?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"Chris\nPeterson: "],[0,[],0,"It was a lot\nof fun to investigate the culture. To represent the Hispanic diaspora without putting\none location or group over another, we went back in time in a way to more\nancient cultures and researched different earth works and farming techniques\nsince the school has a strong culinary program, as well as textile and fabric\nweaving, so those were our jumping off points. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The\nmaterials we chose were somewhat humble, like a ground face masonry block, but\nwe designed it very specifically \u2013 we actually drew each layer \u2013 to emulate those\nlayered horizonal terraces of the Earth. The colors chosen were related to the\nlimestone on the existing building \u2013 the corner of the historic building, the quoins,\nthat sand color. The panels of the building were inspired by the woven textiles,\ncreating a very lively paneled fa\u00e7ade. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"I\nfeel like there is always this talk about placemaking in architecture, and what\ndoes it mean to define a place and give it an identity somewhere? The trick here\nwas to give the culture a presence in the neighborhood. These elementary schools\nin D.C. are based on a prototype from the early 1900s. They are quite similar\nand beautiful in their own right, but at the same time, because of that they\ncan be a little bit anonymous. And they are very D.C. So, how can we make an exclamation\npoint on this community that is here, right now? The community can look at this\nschool and know it represents a certain culture that is proud to be here."]]]]}