Project Overview
Fora Landscape Architects teamed with McGranahan Architects on the rebuild of Olympic View K-8. Informed by a series of community meetings, The team tasked with the design of the replacement K-8 school started with an extensive participatory community engagement process to address potential inequities that may affect a sense of belonging, health, wellbeing and learning process.
location
Federal Way, WA
client
Federal Way School District
Design Partner
McGranahan Architects
The site goals for the project were lofty. Including, creating an outdoor community hub that was park like in nature, accessible to all ages and generations of families, continued the strong tradition of gardening and outdoor learning, while providing a safe and secure and flexible space for students. Providing spaces that served a wide range of age groups (Kids from Kindergarten through Eighth grade) to learn was a challenge. Connecting an outdoor learning and gathering space to the school’s innovation lab or makers space was a critical piece of connecting the inside to outside. A series of roll up doors and flexible interior and exterior spaces allow a variety of uses for science and project-based learning to happen seamlessly inside and out. Generous seating areas allow outdoor learning to occur in multiple ways. A large tiered concrete seating element allows students to gather for garden area instruction and double as a hang out space for middle schoolers or community events on the weekends.
Intentional circulation connects more passive and scholastic spaces with the active outdoor spaces. A large rain garden feature and natural wood bridge creates a learning opportunity while doubling as site circulation. Rain chains descending from roof openings celebrate rainwater which visibly flows through decorative runnels into a large central rain garden allowing the students to experience the water cycle firsthand. Architectural graphics on the entry windows help describe the educational site features. A significant portion of the roof and adjacent paving is infiltrated on site using low impact but simple stormwater features.
The community is invited into the site on nights and weekends via large rolling decorative gates that open up while still providing highly transparent security when needed. A park-like promenade connects the street and neighborhood to the front entrance and community spaces. Within the central courtyard Fora weaved outdoor learning with the garden program to activate the spaces throughout the day and year. The school district has dedicated garden education staff which will ensure the raised beds and other planted areas are well used and well maintained. There are several themed planting areas with education signage and meandering naturalistic pathways acting as smaller educational opportunities, each with their own educational value. As visitors and students pass through the community yard and over a rainwater bridge, they can wind their way through a native plant garden, a garden with sensory and pollinator focused plantings, and an herb garden. All while this diverse planting does double duty of softening the adjacent existing parking areas.
The play areas and athletic areas are carefully designed as an extension of the outdoor learning areas and community courtyard. Visibility was carefully considered to allow staff to easily supervise the site and for families on weekends to observe multiple areas and ages of kids from various locations within the play area and the gardens. Colorful play striping and play equipment compliments the rainbow of colors designed by the architect for the covered play area roof and mural. A small informal grass playfield nestled into the backdrop of the surrounding trees provides a soft space for PE and informal community athletics. The school received a grant from Rave sports and the Sounders to provide a ”mini pitch “, which is a hard surfaced compact athletic field. Fora assisted in the design of this space which is a favorite of the kids at recess and with the community for soccer and street hockey. The surrounding neighborhood is home to a diverse student population, with 86% of the student population being students of color. The Rave pitch was designed with community input and reflects the diversity of the community with a black lives matter focused graphics theme.
