The Com­modore John Bar­ry Ele­men­tary School accom­mo­dates 646 stu­dents on Philadelphia’s west side. Sur­round­ed by two-sto­ry brick row hous­es, the design was chal­lenged to cre­ate a first rate aca­d­e­m­ic facil­i­ty on a tight site. 

Pre­serv­ing 40% of the site as open space was achieved through care­ful place­ment of out­door spaces for all ages. From at grade play struc­ture and a half-court to the roof-top learn­ing envi­ron­ments, the school does not shy from a con­nec­tion to the outdoors.

The two sto­ry Gym­na­si­um occu­pies the cen­ter of the mid­dle zone with strate­gic views to cir­cu­la­tion. The third zone fea­tures class­rooms for arts, sci­ence and media share out­door decks that can be used for hands-on learn­ing expe­ri­ences and stu­dent collaboration.

Exten­sive day­light­ing, water con­ser­va­tion, and increased ener­gy per­for­mance makes this school a show­case for envi­ron­men­tal stew­ard­ship while also becom­ing a pil­lar for the community.

Client: School Dis­trict of Philadel­phia
Pro­gram: Pre‑K to 8^th Grade, Pub­lic School
Size: 104,000 sqft
Cost: $28,900,000

Role: Lead Design Architect 

Col­lab­o­ra­tive Part­ners:
The Seward Part­ner­ship (Asso­ciate Architect)

Pho­tog­ra­phy Cred­it: © Matt Wargo