• 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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FLINT, Mich.鈥擲tantec, a global leader in sustainable design, was selected to provide architectural and interior design services for the recently unveiled Learning Commons at Kettering University, located in Flint. The new Learning Commons complements the unique Kettering curriculum with a facility that is focused on collaboration, ideation and digital technology.

The new 105,000-square-foot Learning Commons incorporates building systems that speak to the permanence and longevity of the institution while offering durability for the decades ahead. The four-story design features an open-air atrium, and a skylight that fills the entire interior space with natural light. The first and second floors feature public gathering, dining, and collaborative spaces, focused on creating dynamic social spaces for students. The third and fourth floors consist of additional collaborative spaces and environments for research, student support, media resources, individual focus, and group project work.

Other exciting elements of the new Learning Commons include a digital library, a 200-seat multi-media auditorium, dining facilities, outdoor patios and rooftop terraces, and an overnight suite for guest professors and lecturers.

The new Learning Commons features more than a dozen 鈥滵-Spaces.鈥� These spaces serve as collaborative study and team rooms that provide comfortable and functional seating for students, faculty, and staff along with digital and analog work tools. There are two Knowledge Bars hosting an entirely digital library, which holds over 900,000 e-books, 100,000 e-journals, and 100+ databases. Other amenities include a 1,600-square-foot roof-top garden designed to reduce run-off and lower temperatures on its surface and the surrounding area.

The Stantec team focused on giving the new facility a timeless and elegant design. The interior has been strategically designed to provide optimum flexibility, with power and technology woven throughout. The building can easily transform to meet the needs of students and faculty, while also allowing for easy adaptability to future programs or space reconfigurations.

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