Dr. Samuel A. Mudd ES Modernization

Designed in alignment with Next Generation Learning principles, the modernization and expansion of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School focuses on concepts of community, sustainability and collaboration. The design team transformed the aging school from a state rated capacity of 404 students to a 76,819 square foot LEED Gold certified facility serving 542 students. Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School was originally constructed in 1967 with 30 pupil classrooms arranged around open plan teaching spaces. Classrooms were designed with flexible partitions and minimal windows to accommodate energy savings and permanent teaching walls. As an aging facility, designed for teacher led instruction, the time had come to update the school for next generation learning. The 2019 modernization of the school re-envisions the future of education by focusing the architecture on learners. Natural light, environmental quality, and flexible furnishings ensure students are comfortable and ready to learn. Material, pattern, and color combine with technology and instructional cues to activate indoor and outdoor collaborative spaces sculpted throughout the design. The result is a sustainable, bright, airy environment planned to inspire and serve the individual learning needs of every child.

The LEED Gold certified building seamlessly integrates sustainability into its design. The expansive corner windows offer calming views of nature while the colored glass creates playful reflections throughout the building following the sun’s path. A rain barrel system collects rainwater overflow and redistributes it to a family of turtles that live in the interior courtyard as part of the school’s science program. By creating a design that minimized impact on the natural environment, maximized durability and longevity, and created multiple opportunities for nature-based learning, we endeavored to create a school that would become a dynamic beacon of sustainability to its local community, and beyond.