ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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by Ellen Larson Vaughan, Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

additional editing by Judy Marks
Updated:
03-27-2017
OVERVIEW
WITHIN THIS PAGE

 Overview
 Building Attributes
 Emerging Issues
 Relevant Codes and Standards
 Major Resources

Elementary School buildings are the setting for the first four to eight years of a child's
formal education, a period of structured schooling that is compulsory in most countries.
In the United States, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), first enacted
in 1965 and reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act, is the principal federal law
that affects kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12). Elementary school usually begins
for children aged four to seven (four if the school includes kindergarten, which is a
program for children four to six years of age that serves as an introduction to school).
Other terms used to describe this initial stage of education are "primary", "grade" and
"grammar" school. This Building Type page defines elementary school as grades K-8.
More than other building types, school facilities have a profound impact on their
occupants and the functions of the building, namely teaching and learning. Children in
various stages of development are stimulated by light, color, the scale of their
surroundings, even the navigational aspects of their school. Children can also react
negatively to adverse conditions.
Passive solar design strategy incorporated into the exterior of the building.
Photo Credit: Loan Pham
The Library / Media Room receives ample daylight.
Photo Credit: Duane Lempke / Sisson Studios
Glebe Elementary School, Arlington, Virginia. Designed by BeeryRio Architecture
+ Interiors

BUILDING ATTRIBUTES
Elementary schools can be designed in a variety of sizes, configurations, and layouts
depending on the school district and the program. It is fairly common for grades seven
and eight—sometimes six, seven and eight—to be housed in separate facilities as
"middle schools." Middle schools pose special challenges to designers. Students at this
pre-adolescent age are becoming more independent, experimental, and temperamental.
They have transitioned from primary school, where instruction occurs for the most part in
one classroom with one teacher, and are learning to follow schedules and find their way
to different parts of the building. The physical organization of the school needs to
provide easy navigation that builds confidence without sacrificing safety and security.
Middle schools also require space for lockers, science labs, art studios, industrial arts,
choral and band, and other programs. Media centers, often as large as 4,000 to 5,000
square feet, are more sophisticated and frequently used in middle schools. Middle
school teachers value cross-disciplinary team teaching, which typically requires
spacious, flexible facilities. For these reasons, and to separate young children from older
students, primary and middle school spaces must be delineated.
Regardless of the school's configuration, children need a healthful and stimulating
environment in which to learn. Elementary schools should be comfortable visually,
acoustically, and thermally; they should have excellent indoor air quality; and they
should be safe and secure. These buildings should also be also good environmental
citizens as they are teaching tools in and of themselves. Community leaders, parents,
and educators value schools that have a strong connection to the community. And
finally, elementary schools need to be cost effective in order to maximize limited funding
and provide the best learning environments possible for the budget.

A. TYPES OF SPACES

The roof monitors that bring daylight into the classrooms of this 200–student elementary school provides an
added benefit: improved acoustics.
Sterling Montessori Academy, Morrisville, North Carolina.
Fundamental space types for elementary schools include, but are not limited to:

 Administrative Offices
 Art facility
 Cafeteria — In elementary schools, the cafeteria often doubles as the auditorium,
aka "cafetorium."
 Classroom — Daylighting is most important in classrooms, where most teaching
and learning occurs.
 Common areas /courtyards
 Gymnasium
 Health Services
 Lobby — Schools often showcase team trophies in the foyer or feature a colorful
display at child's eye level.
 Media Center — Schools are changing traditional libraries into media centers,
adapting to new technology, as well as to other issues such as comfort, flexibility
and maximum use of space.
 Multipurpose Rooms
 Music Education
 Restrooms
 Science Facility

B. IMPORTANT DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

ACCESSIBILITY
  Design spaces to meet the specific needs of students, teachers, and
administrative staff with disabilities. See Americans with Disabilities Act
Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG).
 The United States Access Board, which supports ADA implementation,
recognizes that poor acoustics also have a negative impact on hearing-impaired
students. Acoustical Society of America has published two American National
Standards on classroom acoustics:
o ANSI/ASA S12.60 Part 1: Permanent Schools.
o ANSI/ASA S12.60 Part 2: Relocatable Classroom Factors.
 Design for future flexibility, which enables spaces to be easily modified.

See also:

 ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas

 ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Building Elements Designed for Children's Use
 National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
 WBDG Beyond Accessibility to Universal Design

AESTHETICS
The importance of the physical appearance of a public school should not be minimized.
A school building that is attractive and responds to and is consistent with the design and
context of the neighborhood, builds a sense of pride and ownership among students,
teachers, and the community. The exterior should complement the neighborhood and
reflect the community's values. The interior should enhance the learning process.

 Bring the community into the planning process through an integrated design
process.
 Provide an interior environment that is visually comfortable and stimulating by
integrating natural and artificial lighting, eliminating glare, and incorporating
colors that stimulate or soothe, depending on the space function.
 Design for diffuse, uniform daylight throughout classrooms.
 Avoid direct-beam sunlight.
 Use a daylighting analysis tool to integrate lighting systems, controls, and
materials that reflect or absorb light.

COST-EFFECTIVE
School districts typically separate their capital and operating budgets and therefore have
little incentive to factor in the long-term cost of a building when making decisions about
its design and construction. However, to reduce the total cost of owning a building while
ensuring its quality, it is necessary to balance the initial design and construction costs
with the cost of lighting, heating, cooling, repairing, and otherwise operating and
maintaining the facility.

 Apply cost-effective principals in the planning, design, construction, and operation

of school facilities.
 Select building elements on the basis of life-cycle cost analysis — Mirror the
lifespan of projects and systems with the expected lifespan of the facility.
 Consider the recyclability of materials.
 Specify materials and products that are easy to maintain (balance this with their
impact on children's health and the environment).
 Utilize life-cycle cost analysis tools.
  Commission the facility to ensure that it operates in a manner consistent with
design intent.
 Use energy simulation and analysis tools to optimize energy performance
(integrate daylighting systems, high-performance HVAC, energy-efficient building
shell, and high-performance electric lighting)

FUNCTIONAL
To foster students' sense of community and individuality:

 Cluster classrooms around common areas.

 Connect spaces visually with colors and patterns, particularly for primary school
children.
 Provide platform spaces for gathering, sitting, and presenting and alcoves for
quiet play, reflection, and reading.
 Decentralize administrative spaces to encourage active leadership and maximize
interaction with students.
 Provide a "home base" for each student and teacher.

To ensure flexibility and adaptability for changing programs and enrollments:

 Use operable walls to increase the efficiency of large, multi-purpose spaces, such
as the cafeteria and gymnasium.
 Accommodate technology upgrades.
 Allow classrooms to change with the activity and group size. This is particularly
important in primary schools, where students typically stay in one room with one
teacher throughout much of the day.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Historic school buildings—those that are 50 years of age or older—were typically the
centers of their communities and were designed to optimize natural ventilation and
daylighting. Communities should study the history of their schools and become involved
in the planning of new schools in order to make wise decisions regarding renovation
versus new construction. All of the pros and cons of renovating an old school should be
weighed, such as:

 Structural integrity
 Community access
 Building orientation-solar access
 Daylighting opportunities (i.e., large windows) and possible barriers (multi-story
buildings)
 Other features that enhance or hinder visual/thermal/acoustic comfort
 Potential to upgrade for energy efficiency, water efficiency, safety and security,
and technology
 Aesthetics
 Community landmark; historic significance
 Proximity to residential neighborhoods (potential for walking/bicycling to school)
 Site disturbance

For information about preserving, rehabilitating, restoring, or reconstructing historic

buildings see WBDG Historic Preservation Branch.
PRODUCTIVE
Elementary schools should enhance the health and productivity of students, teachers,
and staff.

 Make daylighting a priority, especially in classrooms. Daylighting is

the controlled admission of natural light into a space. Glare and hot spots can
undermine the learning process. Studies show a positive correlation between
daylighting and student performance.
 Integrate daylighting with high-efficient electric lighting and controls to optimize
visual comfort.
 Use natural ventilation when possible. (This and daylighting also provides a
connection to the outdoors.)
 Ensure acoustical comfort. Poor classroom acoustics are more than merely
annoying. If young children are unable to hear their teacher, they usually are
unable to "fill in the blanks" as adults with life experience are able to do, and this
can disrupt learning.
 Ensure superior indoor air quality. Children typically are more sensitive to indoor
air pollutants than adults and more likely to suffer ill effects such as allergies and
asthma. See the EPA's information on healthy school environments Healthy
Schools, Healthy Kids. Consider displacement ventilation systems .
 Ensure thermal comfort. "Right size" HVAC systems to keep humidity in the
comfort zone. Give teachers control over the temperature of individual
classrooms.
 Embrace the concept of the building as a teaching tool (aka a 3-D textbook or
living lab).
 Connect the indoor environment to the outdoors by providing operable view
windows in classrooms and easy access from classrooms to gardens and other
outdoor areas that can be utilized in the curriculum.

Skylights are used to distribute natural daylight to the classrooms, library, multipurpose room, and offices of
this 800–student, K–5 school. Louvers installed in the skylight wells help control daylight levels and can be
used to darken rooms when necessary. Classroom windows provide additional daylight and are protected
by deep overhangs that control direct sunlight and glare.
Dena Boer Elementary School, Salida, California.
SECURE / SAFE

 Providing safe schools should be a high priority.

 Maximize visual access to corridors and school grounds.
 Increase occupants' sense of ownership and "territoriality" by providing
comfortable, not institutional, rooms and by clearly defining the school
boundaries.
 Control access to the building and grounds by individuals and vehicles.
 Use durable, non-toxic building materials.
 Provide shelter in cases of emergency. See BIPS 07 / FEMA 428 Primer to
Design Safe School Projects in Case of Terrorist Attacks and School
Shootings and FEMA Safe Rooms and Community Shelters Case Studies.
 Accommodate safe egress from the building in case of emergency.

'Room like,' non-institutional corridors, plenty of views out and in, and windows between the classrooms
and the hallway all combine to improve the safety and sense of security in this New Hampshire school.
Boscawen Elementary School, Boscawen, New Hampshire.

SUSTAINABLE

 Designing sustainable, high performance green schools.

 Use energy, water, and other resources efficiently.
 Integrate renewable energy strategies, including passive solar design and, where
appropriate, solar thermal and photovoltaics.
 Integrate high-performance mechanical and lighting systems.
 Conserve and protect natural areas. Provide barriers that protect children and
plants and wildlife.
 Incorporate materials and products derived from sustainable-yield processes
and/or are manufactured locally.
 Provide opportunities for safe walking and bicycling to school.
 Rain is "harvested" from the roof of this 608–student, K–5 school, and used to water the grounds and flush
the toilets year round. The water is stored in six above-ground cisterns designed as integral components of
the overall architecture of the facility.
Roy Lee Walker Elementary School, McKinney, Texas, Independent School District.

EMERGING ISSUES
Demand is on the rise for schools that feature high-performance design and
technologies to enhance learning, support community use, and function well during
natural and manmade disasters. At the same time, resources for school planning,
design, construction, and operation are constrained. The challenge is to build high
quality schools efficiently. Community shared spaces and life-cycle cost analysis are two
ways that designers are meeting this challenge.
Scientists, planners, design professionals, public officials, school administrators,
parents, teachers, and students are informing the current dialogue about optimal school
design:
 Scientists who study the "neuroscience of learning" are finding that certain
lighting, acoustics, and spatial relationships support or hinder the learning
process.
 Planners and designers are involving community stakeholders in their design
decisions and spurring the development of joint-use facilities that are centers of
the community.
 Concerns about safety and security (within the school and within the community)
are more acute than ever, prompting innovative thinking about design strategies
that minimize the impact of natural and manmade hazards. Schools with back-up,
off-grid, renewable power systems can double as emergency shelters. See
NREL Solar Secure Schools: Strategies and Guidelines .
 State and local officials are recognizing that school facilities-the physical
buildings-are important to their programmatic success. Several states have
established new design guidelines and requirements for "high performance"
schools whose features promote student/teacher health and productivity, cost-
effectiveness, and sustainability.
 School administrators, parents, teachers, and students are focused on meeting
new testing standards, which calls for an enhanced learning environment with
appropriate technology and comfort control systems.
 School districts are serving communities that are increasingly multi-cultural and
multi-lingual

SCHOOL LIBRARY
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by WBDG Staff
Updated:
05-11-2017
OVERVIEW
WITHIN THIS PAGE

 Overview
 Building Attributes
 Emerging Issues
 Relevant Codes and Standards
 Major Resources

School libraries differ from most other types of libraries because they are contained
within school buildings, which, in addition to library space, may include classrooms,
auditoriums, circulation space, administrative offices, cafeterias, and the like. As a result,
school libraries, or library media centers (LMCs) as they are commonly called, are
smaller than their counterparts. Appropriate space planning for present needs and future
expansion is imperative in the school library program. According to a study by the
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, computer and video technology, in addition
to other forms of media including print material, is an important part of education. Use of
technology in classrooms and in the library must include design aspects that support
learning, including adjustable lighting, ample electrical connections, sound control,
and space for expansion. School library space must also accommodate computer
learning that is separated from quiet reading, group study, circulation, reference work,
and other learning activities.

Robert J. Elkington Middle School Library, Grand Rapids, MN

BUILDING ATTRIBUTES
A. TYPES OF SPACES
There are many broad types of school library space:

 Collection space
 Electronic workstation space
 User seating space
 Staff work space
 Meeting space
 Special use space
 Non-assignable space (including mechanical space)
In addition, library media centers need the following:

 Space to separate activities that interfere with each other (see also
WBDG Functional / Operational—Account for Functional Needs);
 Ample electrical outlets and circuits (walls, floors, and ceiling);
 Open design, few walls, relocatable partitions (see also WBDG Productive—
Design for the Changing Workplace);
 Multiple telephone lines for voice, data, and intercom connections;
 Appropriate cable connections for video and data transmission (see also
WBDG Productive—Integrate Technological Tools);
 Conference rooms with access to video and data transmission;
 Acoustical treatment on walls, ceilings, and floors (see also WBDG Productive—
Provide Comfortable Environments);
 The ability to install cubicle partitions, some with electrical wiring extensions;
 Video production areas;
 Adjustable lighting (see also WBDG Energy Efficient Lighting and Electric
Lighting Controls; and
 Generous space for staff work areas (see also WBDG Productive and Functional
/ Operational).

EMERGING ISSUES
In addition to the emerging issues of sustainable design and wiring technology to
accommodate modern communications (see Public Library: Emerging Issues), and
digital media and the space required to accommodate it (see Academic Library:
Emerging Issues), connecting classrooms to the library and to outlets for distance
learning is an emerging issue in school media center design. As outlined in Classrooms,
Library Media Centers, and New Technology, a study by the Wisconsin Department of
Public Instruction, some other design considerations include:

 Space for future cabling;

 Rooms for file servers and other equipment;
 Surge protectors and uninterruptible power supply; and
 A detained map of the network.

Increasingly, school curricula are based on collaborative and group projects. As a result,
there is less and less emphasis on traditional, individual study settings, such as long
rows of individual study carrels. Instead, school libraries are developing learning centers,
which provide group study rooms and settings, well-supported by access to electronic
information resources, hardware tools, and associated productivity software.

https://www.wbdg.org/building-types/education-facilities/secondary-
school