Western Reserve Elementary School

Wakeman, Ohio

Firm

Buehrer Group Architecture & Engineering

Client

Western Reserve School District

Area

92,458 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$10,100,000

Completion Date

07/2002

The new pre-K to 6 Western Reserve Elementary School replaced two existing buildings and freed up area in the middle school/high school. A premium was placed on maximizing classroom space in the two-building rural school district.
A two-story approach was chosen for this 38-classroom school, which minimized the size of the building footprint and reduced the overall maintenance area of the standing-seam metal roof. Parallel proscenium platform openings permit viewing from the auditeria or the gymnasium. A larger 8,200-square-foot elementary school gymnasium and two locker rooms create flexibility for after-hour districtwide athletic needs. Two music rooms, one for vocal music and the other for instrumental music, are unique in an elementary setting.
A project lab for sixth-grade use and an art room give staff the proper environment to educate students. The media center is situated next to the main entrance and adjacent to the computer lab.
The crowning achievement in this project was the budget management, which allowed $750,000 to be used for high school/middle school renovations and additions.