Lower Macungie Middle School

Macungie, Pennsylvania

Firm

Architectural Studio

Client

East Penn School District

Area

174,400 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$22,400,000

Completion Date

09/1999

The program and design of this middle school emphasizes the close relationship between community and education. A large plaza for public events leads to a lobby joining the auditorium, gymnasium and cafeteria. The library, art rooms and an art courtyard are prominently situated, and their forms are clearly expressed at the front of the school.
Another important consideration in the design was to break down the scale of the building so that it would be more approachable to its students, particularly younger children coming from small neighborhood elementary schools. Massing, entrance canopies, materials and color are used to accomplish this.
The three-story academic wing houses one grade per floor. Colors, corridor layouts and faculty-planning space encourage a team concept, further helping students build an individual identity within a group.
The building is connected to a district-made fiber-optic system that includes a media-management system addressable from each classroom, and an environmental/energy-management system, which can be programmed remotely from the district operations center.

Photographer: ©Steven Wolfe