The new Middle School campus is being developed on the same site as the existing building it will replace.  The gradually sloping site is bordered to the South by the Sandy Run Creek.  This dominant landscape feature is embraced by the Academic component of the complex in its form as well as through centrally located collaborative areas on each academic floor which focus on the Creek. The School for 1,000 students is divided into two distinct elements, a three-story Academic Wing for Grades 6, 7 & 8 and a one-story Shared Use Wing which contains all public functions.  These two components are separated by an east/west concourse and an open ended courtyard which provides a visual connection to the site.  This courtyard provides daylight to the North Facing Classrooms as well as creating a protected open space for outdoor learning.  The courtyard is activated by a circular planetarium that anchors the western edge of the space and can be viewed from the school's public concourse as well as the glass enclosed east/west concourse.The splayed Academic wing allows for the creation of a central node that houses the Library & Large Collaborative Areas.  Science Labs and Special Education Classrooms directly relate to Smaller Collaboration zones which are equally dispersed on all three floors. Access between the Academic wing and the public/shared use wing occurs primarily at the middle level of the the three-story academic wing - allowing for convenient access from the remaining upper and lower floors to the public spaces.  Additionally, a glazed cross corridor punctuates the courtyard at the eastern edge and facilitates additional interaction between the two building components. The project is targeted to receive LEED Gold Certification.

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