For this new campus development for the Portola Valley School District, CAW was tasked with replacing aging classroom buildings and designing two new buildings that allow for flexible and adaptable learning environments. Since the buildings about natural wetlands, integrating the architecture within the natural site was essential both for water conservation and creating robust teaching experiences within the landscape. Examples of this include classrooms that project over a frog pond, allowing students to wander through the environment in mud boots.
In time, the new classroom buildings will support countless hands-on, interactive learning opportunities thanks to the new science, art, and maker-space laboratories found within the space. The Portola Valley School District and CAW alike believe the new campus with inspire the students’ curiosity and challenge them to experiment, test ideas, work in groups and, ultimately, become better prepared for the future in today’s ever-changing global society.
