Dublin City School District - Hopewell and Abraham Depp Elementary Schools

Open, Flexible Designs Enable Adaptable Learning

The Dublin City School District partnered again with OHM Advisors after our architecture team’s successful design of its Glacier Ridge Elementary in 2007 to design two 82,000-sf elementary schools, together slated to serve over 1,400 students. To both accommodate tight schedules and create parity in the district, we used the Glacier Ridge design as a launchpad to conduct extensive programming sessions with administrators, educators and students to understand their vision and goals and meet the needs of future curriculum and learning styles.

The design for the new Hopewell Elementary school building accommodates 720 students with a variety of learning modalities. Our team incorporated collaborative design features such as garage doors that open to connect classrooms to shared learning spaces, as well as flexible, transparent small group areas nestled between classrooms to create intimate learning environments. The media center is centrally located with large folding glass walls that open into shared, extended learning spaces just outside the classrooms. There are also built-in niches throughout for focused, individual learning as well as a variety of small, collaborative learning area groupings adorned with adaptable furniture. The art classroom is located next to the cafeteria with a glass garage door to allow students ample space to work beyond the classroom. Exterior building design elements include separate traffic entryways for buses and parents which overcame site access challenges, and playful, reimagined playground spaces along with kickball and soccer fields.

Our team similarly designed Abraham Depp Elementary in Jerome Village, but as part of a shared master site plan for both the elementary and the Eversole Run Middle School. Our preliminary concept for the middle school led to the design of a coordinated, shared kitchen, supporting utilities, and safe traffic and pedestrian flows for both schools. The exterior building design respects the traditional architecture of the neighborhoods while incorporating modern elements.

Project highlights: architecture, landscape architecture, municipal engineering, construction administration, surveying, interior design, community engagement