Templeton Elementary School

Tigard, Oregon

Firm

IBI Group

Client

Tigard-Tualatin School District

Area

75,220 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$28,700,000

Completion Date

08/2018

Josh Partee

[close]

Design Team
Rebecca Stuecker, Levi Patterson, Mathew Braun, Rebecca Grant, Marta Lilly, Raymond Martin

Templeton Elementary is a 600-student replacement school. It serves grades K-5 in the Tigard-Tualatin district outside Portland, Ore. The original building failed to meet many requirements of a modern learning environment. It lacked exterior windows; offered undersized, hexagonal classrooms that could be accessed only from an exterior door; and provided no internal common areas for teacher-student collaboration or project-based learning support. Replacing the old Templeton Elementary was a high priority for the district and community.

The new school facility is wood with a single two-hour building separation. Forced-air mechanical systems provide ventilation and heating, as well as air conditioning in select spaces. Construction began in spring 2017 on the occupied elementary school site and completed in August 2018.

In conversations with the community, one concept emerged to drive design decisions: People learn differently, and this school must support all learners. In response to these varied needs, the design team created a diagram of the learning neighborhood as a sequence of student experiences, from individual to group ownership and from less to more autonomy.

Classrooms are set up as large group learning zones, but flexible furniture quickly changes the configuration to support multiple small groups. Each classroom has a built-in window bench nook where students can spend quiet time alone. Built-in desks just outside the classroom door enable students to work alone or in pairs while remaining visible to educators. Flexible furniture supports small group work zones and is organized around built-in anchor walls that may contain marker boards, tackable surfaces or flat screens. Interior windows between classrooms and the extended learning area provide transparency, implied supervision, and serene outside views.