Ervin Early Learning Center

Ervin Early Learning Center

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

  • Hickman Mills School District
  • Renovation
  • 110,000 SF total
  • $7.5 million

Repurposing an abandoned middle school gave pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students a space their own focused on literacy.

Research shows that students who do not have an early education focused on literacy are more likely to struggle throughout school and into adulthood. This dedicated brain-based facility for young learners allowed the District to put an emphasis on this issue without committing more square footage to Kindergarten. It also gave the District more classroom space within each elementary school for older grade levels.

ervin-wide

East Middle School

East Middle School
East Middle School

East Middle School

JOPLIN, MISSOURI

  • Joplin School District
  • New Construction
  • 125,800 SF total
  • $30.4 million

A shared building with a well-defined threshold eases the transition from elementary to middle school, while a bold, vibrant color palette set this young adult space apart from elementary.

Sharing a site with Soaring Heights Elementary School, it’s important that the architecture, design and environmental graphics emphasize the maturity, focus and confidence that comes with young adulthood.

This school replaces the middle school lost on May 22, 2011, when the worst tornado disaster on record to date in the United States hit to the City of Joplin. The Superintendent called this effort “Operation Rebuild.”

Summit Ridge Middle School

Summit Ridge
Summit Ridge

Summit Ridge Middle School

LITTLETON, COLORADO

  • Jefferson County Public Schools
  • Addition/Renovation
  •  13,000 SF
  • $4.8 million

Visual connectivity and strategically designed collaborative spaces have led to an evolution of learning styles at this newly combined middle school. 

Jeffco Public Schools in Denver, Colorado recently decided to transition their sixth-grade students into middle-school, and needed to accommodate for the addition of 400 students. The existing building hosted traditional classrooms and learning areas, challenging the design team to seamlessly integrate the two buildings while incorporating collaborative learning elements into the addition. Hollis + Miller worked directly with the principal, faculty, community members, and students to create a design that would introduce collaboration spaces and a learning stair alongside new classrooms and science labs. Renovations to the school’s STEAM classrooms allow more students access to hands on education with computer aided design, engineering, and fabrication.

Mason Elementary School

Mason Elementary School

LEE’S SUMMIT, MISSOURI

  • Lee’s Summit R7 School District
  • $13.3M
  • 22,000 SF Addition
    52,000 SF Existing Renovations

The newly modernized learning environment preserves the rich history of a community while offering students innovative collaboration areas naturally integrated into the flow of the building.

Serving the district for nearly a century, Mason Elementary School has expanded and adapted over the years to accommodate a growing student population. The existing building was over capacity, and rather than construct an entirely new school, the design team developed a renovation and addition plan bringing the new learning environment into the 21st century, accommodating the increased number of students and leaving the legacy of the historical building intact.

The horseshoe shape of the existing building made it difficult for students to connect, and inconvenient to traverse to other classrooms. Recognizing the new building needed to achieve a lot within a small footprint, the team re-imagined how the use of space could be redesigned for efficiency. The corridors now serve as collaboration spaces integrating technology and flexible furniture while also opening to classrooms with glass doors and providing natural connections everywhere. Bright colors, the use of wood and the integration of the existing brick give a warm and welcoming feel, emulating the family emphasis of its patrons.

Olathe West High School

Olathe West High School

OLATHE, KANSAS

  • Olathe USD 233
  • New Construction
  • 375,000 SF
  • $85 million
  • Design Partner: Stantec Architecture

Learning is on display at this one-of-a-kind high school.

From the moment students walk in the door, they’re greeted with the media center and the 21st Century Learning program labs. Student socialization and collaboration are encouraged with two learning stairs connecting academic neighborhoods.

Academic neighborhoods house a variety of spaces from flexible labs to blended learning environments, giving the school a more collegiate feel. No teacher owns their classroom, but rather chooses the environment that will work best for that day’s lesson.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

  • AIA Kansas – Citation Award in Large Architecture
  • A4LE Midwest Great Lakes – John Shaw Award