Edgewood Middle School NSSD112

As a local school anchoring a historic neighborhood, the Edgewood Middle School (grades 6 – 8) renovation centers around embracing learning and creating an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of all students. A combination of additions and renovations gave new life to the existing school to create a space for learning with input from students, teachers, and community members.

Sustainability was top of mind from the beginning, and like its sister middle school, the pursuit of LEED was a school district and community priority. The design team responded using a fully integrated approach that emphasizes biophilia and creates a sense of excitement, popping with color, and welcoming for the community. Additional windows were added to provide daylight into all student spaces. At the heart of this new design is a three-story Learning Commons and Media Center addition that infilled underutilized space to connect all student levels. This three-story atrium space was inspired by the imagery, nature-like colors, and textures of a tree canopy. It encourages student interactions, visibility of movement vertically with an open Learning Stair and horizontally with open walkways. The goal is to provide a space that connects and nurtures the whole child—emotionally, socially, intellectually and nutritionally. Immediately attached to the Learning Commons is a new cafeteria filled with daylight from large windows and an opening to the sky. A commercial kitchen and food serving area was added to allow for the addition of a lunch program for the first time at this school. The goal was to promote healthy food that is accessible to all the students, on an equitable level with other schools in the community. A new gymnasium doubles as a storm shelter for the student community and fitness center space support and encourage life-long healthy exercise habits and wellness.

Through a lens of sustainability, the design not only improves the environmental performance of the existing facility but fosters a sense of community through the thoughtful integration of public art into spaces to display student artwork and projects, and an inspirational Albert Einstein quote is featured on a wood wall. The overall design creates a welcoming, people-friendly, innovative space for students, staff, and the broader community.