• 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

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Tony Wood, superintendent of the school district, told that construction on both projects is scheduled to begin in summer 2017, with plans for the elementary school to open in August 2018 and the high school to open in 2019 or 2020. The high school will be approximately 259,000 square feet in size (not including athletic facilities), and the elementary school span roughly 80,000 square feet.

WER Architects/Planners is serving as the architect on the project, while Baldwin & Shell Construction Company is serving as the construction manager. Both are located in Little Rock. Bids for subcontractors will likely be sought in June or July 2017.

Both schools were approved for state partnership funding, which is based on the district’s wealth index, but it won’t be announced until May 2017 whether or not that request will be filled, Wood told Arkansas Business. If the state wealth index stays the same, the state will pay approximately $21.9 million for the high school and $7.1 million for the elementary school.

Following the May 2017 funding announcement, the district also plans to fund the project by selling bonds, backed by a 7.6-mill property tax increase that voters approved in February. District funds from a desegregation settlement will also be used to pay for the new projects, according to Arkansas Business. Additionally, the Department of Defense will likely fund some of the project, as the elementary school will replace Arnold Drive and Tolleson elementary schools. Arnold Drive is located on Little Rock Air Force Base, and Tolleson is less than a mile away.
 

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