The 100,000-square-foot Gladstone Elementary School will serve 798 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and consolidate the former Gladstone and Arlington elementary school communities. | Photo Credit (all): Finegold Alexander Architects
- The new 100,000-square-foot Gladstone Elementary School in Cranston, R.I.,听consolidates听Gladstone and Arlington elementary schools and is designed for 798 students in grades K-5.听
- Finegold Alexander Architects organized the school around six Learning Communities rather than a traditional classroom-and-corridor layout.听
- Curiosity Centers connect the Learning Communities with dedicated music,听art听and maker spaces, while shared areas include a cafetorium, gymnasium and gathering stairs.听
- The design uses the existing site鈥檚 topography and solar orientation to support a compact footprint, natural听daylight听and views.听
- Student input helped shape an inclusive 鈥渢ree concept,鈥� with student artwork incorporated into lobby graphics and interior signage.听
CRANSTON, R.I. 鈥� Cranston, R.I., is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Sept. 17 to celebrate the new Gladstone Elementary School designed around collaborative learning rather than the conventional classroom-and-corridor model.听
Designed by Finegold Alexander Architects, the 100,000-square-foot Gladstone Elementary School will serve 798 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and听consolidate听the former Gladstone and Arlington elementary school communities.听
The project centers on six Learning Communities, each arranged as a connected suite of spaces with听different sizes听and uses. According to project materials from Finegold Alexander Architects, each community includes a听learning commons, learning studios, an active lab, a teacher collaboration听workroom听and small-group rooms. The approach is intended to support a more community-based, collaborative teaching model.听
Specialized Curiosity Centers link the Learning Communities on each floor. These areas include purpose-built music,听art听and makerspaces. Larger shared spaces include a first-floor cafetorium described as the school鈥檚 鈥淪ocial Heart,鈥� a lower-level gymnasium and gathering stairs that can accommodate informal seating and interaction among students,听staff听and families.听
The school also extends learning outdoors through three outdoor learning areas, multiple听playgrounds听and a community garden. Finegold Alexander says the building was positioned to work with the site鈥檚 challenging terrain, creating a compact footprint while听optimizing听solar orientation for daylight and views.听
Student participation also influenced the interior concept. Project background materials say fourth graders developed a 鈥淩adiating Respect鈥� project that helped inspire a welcoming and inclusive environment. The school is organized around a tree concept, with each floor听representing听a different part of the tree, and student artwork appears in entry lobby graphics and interior signage.听
鈥淭his is community (and) student-centered-driven from all aspects 鈥� It鈥檚 just such a great design,鈥� said Roxanne Gustafson, Executive Director of Curriculum, Assessment and Grants for Cranston Public Schools.听
Finegold Alexander also emphasized cost-conscious design decisions, including vertically stacking the learning community wings to create structural and mechanical efficiencies and using durable, low-maintenance masonry for much of the building envelope.听