Chicago Public School South Side, K-8

Chicago, IL

This 106,000 square foot K-8 school gradually emerges from the site to create a large central playground, between a raised garden edge and a more public urban side.  The building structure tapers from a commanding, urban presence on the North side of the site, adjacent to a major public thoroughfare, to a more subtle, dispersed presence on the South side of the site where it abuts a quieter residential neighborhood.  The school is composed of a field of echoed arcs, whose interaction leads to an intricate layering of program and circulation that fosters a dynamic dialogue between the building and the landscape.  A collection of “walls of words” further cultivates this sense of dialogue, with the quotations of great minds lending their inspiration to the children of the school.

Los Angeles AIA Next LA Award