The Orchard School, Renovations and Additions

Indianapolis, Indiana

Firm

Ratio Architects

Client

The Orchard School Board of Trustees

Area

72,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$10,700,000

Completion Date

09/2001

The Orchard School is a private, progressive school for 600 students in preschool through eighth grade. The main objective of the project was to create learning and activity centers throughout the school, which will facilitate a variety of interactive learning spaces for different group sizes and student projects. Additions included two new kindergarten classrooms and a large motor-skills activity center for the early elementary students (grades preschool to 2); a learning activity center for the lower school (grades 3 to 5); a learning center and new classrooms for the middle school (grades 6 to 8); and music and drama classrooms.
To complement the school’s wooded site, the architecture features exposed wood trusses/ceilings and natural lighting from clerestory windows. Small study rooms, kitchenette walls and storage closets are skewed in plan and boldly colored to create fun activity area partitions.
The existing facility was modernized with new flooring, ceilings, lighting, mobile cabinetry and a central HVAC system. The building exterior was upgraded with brick veneer, featuring ceramic tiles etched with student drawings.