Reed School

Reed Union School District
Tiburon, California

New Classroom and Administration Bldgs.

350 K2 Students
21,740 s.f.

The Reed Union School District is a 3 schoolhouse K-8 district. Reed USD provides for all of its K-2 students at Reed School. The learning environment of this K-2 campus has been greatly enhanced by the kindergarten additions that now allow full day kindergarten, a new art classroom, a fresh music room, an invigorating ‘nautical theme’ library and a special learning center. The learning environment that is now in place, between new and modernized facilities, is much more flexible, diverse and representative of the energetic aspirations of staff and students.
The original Reed School campus facilities provided an innocuous face to the community and a limited education environment to the students and staff. The campus was in need of a catalyst that could better reflect an energetic student and staff environment. This facility not only provides an enhancement to the existing campus’ functionality, but it also provides a much needed enhancement to the campus’ image. The role of sustainability in the planning and design of this facility resides in decisions regarding enduring materials, ample natural light and the ability to naturally ventilate all the spaces. The decision to invest in highly flexible, energy efficient and functional spaces will serve this community for many generations to come.
The unique needs of this K-2 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 of 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 ground level is shared between the library, kindergarten, art classroom along with ancillary facilities. The new Administration Building replaces a former administration area that was more of an obscure closet than an accessible public office. Hence, the new Administration Building became the prominent cornerstone of a new site plan that included a new parent dropoff/pickup circle. The administration is not only well situated to greet visitors, but it is also oriented to allow the Principal and administrative staff to observe the campus’ outdoor play area. A critical design feature that links the new with the old is the walk canopies and trellis work. The new pathways and trellises bind new and existing facilities into a single campus statement. Reed School now looks as good and performs as well as if were an entirely new campus.