Butner-Stem Middle School

Butner, North Carolina

Firm

Smith Sinnett Architecture

Client

Granville County Schools

Area

34,600 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$9,499,840

Completion Date

08/1998

This 650-student middle school is part of a 100-acre master plan, which includes an elementary school, community recreational facilities and planned greenway development, and is designed to optimize the fiscal and environmental resources of Granville County.
Each wing assumes a clear and individualized identity within the overall context of the project. Three of the wings are designated for classroom teaching, each devoted to an individual middle- school grade level. A gracefully arching student commons attached to each wing and positioned along the central circulation spine, accompanied by an adjoining outdoor teaching courtyard, becomes a valuable gathering area for informal academic and extracurricular activities. Students at each grade level naturally come to identify their commons as a kind of home base, establishing both an evident hierarchical order for the school and a comforting sense of familiarity within its public spaces.
The fourth building wing to the west houses facilities for physical education and school administration, while a future fifth wing to the east will add an auditorium and additional classroom space. A cafeteria, media center and fine-arts studio complete the building’s program.

Photographer: ©James West Photography and ©Peter Damroth Photography