Buckeye Valley Local School District - East and West Elementary Schools

Robust Visioning and Design Process Opens Doors to Future Learning

The Buckeye Valley Local School District engaged OHM Advisors at the start of its master planning process to help envision their new K-5 facilities to align with 21st century educational principles. Our multidisciplinary team of experts provided assessment verification, reprogramming recommendations and master planning studies, and led a robust public engagement process including facilitation of an educational visioning charette with teachers, community leaders, and other interested stakeholders to fully identify the community’s vision for their children’s future.

Following the master plan and a successful bond passage, the District hired our team to develop designs for a new West Elementary school building and significant renovations to the existing East Elementary building. The designs incorporated the educational concepts from the visioning charette and community input—including learning areas extended beyond the classroom, learning communities grouped by grade levels, small group learning rooms throughout, increased transparency and connectivity, and considered flexibility and adaptability in how teaching teams can configure the furniture and spaces. The buildings contain translucent skylights in the centers of each grade-level community to provide abundant natural light.

The East Elementary school building design included removal of 75% of the existing building and development of three new additions for academic and program spaces. Our team created a phased plan to minimize disruption to students with careful attention to site circulation and building functionality optimization. Together, the two facilities bring to life the District’s vision for the future of its K-5 learning community.

Project Highlights: architecture, landscape architecture, municipal engineering, construction administration, survey, MEP engineering, community engagement