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Bel Aire Reed Union School District Modernization & New Facilities The Town of Tiburon is on a peninsula that maintains the natural feel of a small Northern California seaside township. This community’s planning input, financial support and its encouragement of excellent educational facilities was essential to this project. This project is, without doubt, a direct reflection of this community’s belief in supporting it’s schools. The Reed Union School District is a 3-schoolhouse, K-8 district that provides for all of its 3rd thru 5th grade students at Bel Aire School. The project included renovated and new classrooms, completely renovated art classrooms, a fresh music room, an invigorating and spacious new library, a new staff development center and a new specially equipped performing arts multi-purpose room. The unique needs of this school were outlined in several group planning forums. These public workshops included input from teaching staff, administrative staff, school board members, community residents, local planning commission members and even the mayor of the local township. The result was a list of priorities and mandates for the project design. One very critical aspect o this project’s planning was the design of a construction sequencing that would allow an existing campus to stay fully functional while its core facilities were being replaced. The project’s success can now be measured by the community’s realization of the vision that it had helped conceive. The community’s clear and unanimous vision for the facility’s aesthetic is that it should echo the existing neighborhood’s traditional coastal hillside architecture. The elements of the existing neighborhood architecture were studied and discussed in public workshops. Design elements were then incorporated into the building’s evolving functional design. The new Performing Arts-based Multi-Purpose Building replaces a former undersized and inadequate cafeteria facility. Hence, the new Multi-Purpose Building became the prominent cornerstone of a new visitor-friendly site plan that includes a re-tooled parent dropoff/pickup area, highlighted by a new signature clocktower. The new clocktower entry statement is not only well-situated to greet visitors, but is also oriented to provide convenient elevator accessibility on a challenging steep hillside ste. Critical design features that blend the new with the old include strategic landscaping infill, integrated walk canopies and enhanced pedestrian walkways. The new pathway and trellises bind new and existing facilities into a single campus statement. Bel Aire School now looks and performs as well as if it were an entirely new campus. The library was agreed to be the “feature” of the new Classroom Building. As such, the library establishes itself as the most prominent form with a soaring 2-story space that links the ground level library to the computer and special learning facilities above. The upper level of the Classroom Building is occupied by classrooms and special learning facilities. The ground level is shared between the library and exterior covered eating areas, along with ancillary support facilities.
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| Two Views of Bel Aire's New Multi-Purpose / Performing Arts Building | ||||||||||
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| Student Production of "Grease" • • • View of Courtyard | ||||||||||
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| New Classroom / Library Building • Previous Classroom Building | ||||||||||
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| Library/Media Center Interior • Music Room Interior | ||||||||||
