Schaefer Middle School

Springfield, Ohio

Firm

Lesko Associates, Inc.

Client

Springfield City School District

Area

76,433 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$9,623,000

Completion Date

07/2005

Schaefer Middle School in Springfield, Ohio, is a building for grades 6 to 8 that was designed under the Ohio School Facilities Commission program guidelines. The building was designed with the media center as the focal point and anchor to the rest of the building; it symbolically embraces learning and community. With the district’s emphasis on community use of its facilities, this school is designed to separate the academic cores from spaces shared by the public, such as the gymnasium and cafetorium.
The school’s academic core is designed as a two-story wing that incorporates classrooms, science labs, technology labs and special-education classrooms on each level. This allows the school to be organized into smaller academic houses and provides the most flexibility.
The front facade of the building is composed of a number of geometric forms that highlight major spaces in the school, including the media center, cafetorium, science classroom and vertical circulation. Another feature of the design is the abundant use of natural light throughout the building to enhance the education environment.