St. Francis School

The windowless St. Francis Gymnasium, appropriately called, “the big metal box” was in disrepair. The school needed a new facility to house a gymnasium and performing arts center and incorporate the school’s environmental and educational values. This was achieved through a design approach that offers an indoor/outdoor theatre, multi-purpose indoor/outdoor athletics and integrated instructional use. It also surpasses the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and anticipates Silver-level LEED certification, through the use of sustainable materials, eco-conscious construction, integrated ventilation and zero run-off site design.

The St. Francis Gymnasium and Performing Arts Center has become the hub of campus, directly connecting and serving the surrounding athletics facilities. The building features new locker rooms, fitness rooms, three basketball courts, a stage with amphitheatre seating and green room, health food concession stand, garden play area and green walls and roof. Numerous bi-fold glass doors, sliding walls and curtains provide the flexibility to integrate the theatre and gymnasium, to expand and accommodate larger audiences, to open walls to the outdoors or to segment spaces into smaller classroom/meeting areas.

To foster student’s environmental awareness, the architect incorporated a series of educational computer stations displaying the building’s energy efficiency and other eco-metrics in real-time. Glass walls designed to best take advantage of natural daylightling insulate and ventilate the building and the two green walls and green roof feature native plant materials, self-maintained by rain catches on the structure and surrounding site. Nearly all building construction materials contain post-industrial recycled content and are harvested and sourced from local businesses.

The facility also incorporates the needs of the neighborhood by including a mezzanine equipped with Internet access for parents waiting for their children, daycare, spaces for monthly community meetings and special events, as well facilities for club team games and practices.