The Waldon Studio Architects (now Michael Graves Architecture) / Hughes Group Architects Joint Venture was hired to design a LEED Silver renovation and addition for James Mosher Elementary School. The 67,971 SF renovation and 12,696 SF new addition sits on an urban site in Baltimore City, sharing the property with the Eddie Murray Baseball Field.
The design team created a public walkway “promenade” with trees, landscaping, seating, and exterior lighting to embrace the connection between the school and field. The design is organized around the existing school education spaces and a community wing which houses shared community spaces, including a food pantry, assembly area, and meeting rooms. The new addition houses a cafeteria, gymnasium, and media center, which will has views out to the fields, play areas, and outdoor community gathering clusters. The academic wings house younger Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms on the lower level, with first and second grade students on the upper level. Special Education classrooms are dispersed throughout and collaborative, flexible learning environments with movable furniture are centrally located on each floor.
New playgrounds, plantings, storm water bio-retention zones, and outdoor learning spaces replaced the existing asphalt paving. The existing entrances were transformed to harmonize with the art deco style of the existing building, with new masonry detailing, glazing, lighting, signage, canopies, and walkways that embrace a welcoming and inviting character. The design team explored ways for the school to express its unique identity in the Bridgeview / Greenlawn community with the use of public and student art displays and banners.
The project sustainability goal is LEED Silver certified and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) standards were utilized to design a safe and secure access to the site around the perimeter, throughout the site, and inside the school.
