This simple large room is both a school center and a meeting place for lower school physical education. Lessons in scale dimension the room, from the sheltering child size window/stoops along the playground wall, to the adult size view portal out to the woods at the end wall, to the double-height order of the ramp/loggia wall. Exposed systems and self-finishing materials organize the interior, with ventilated brick panels encasing the exterior.
Master Plan
A two-phase master plan to study the school facilities and grounds was developed between 1994 and 1997. The Lower School facilities were the focus of the first phase. Having outgrown the original school mansion, a series of one story additions were appended to the mansion throughout the 1960's and 1970's, housing classrooms, library and offices. The master plan identified new program needs, including renovations to lower school facilities and a new activity center to house a Lower School gymnasium as well as dance and assembly functions in a newly centered plan.
Site
The site for the Welles Activity Center was chosen for proximity to outdoor play areas and pools as well as its position central to classrooms. The hillside site provided a massing advantage allowing ramps to lower the mass of the new building.
Ramp Loggia
The main room is entered by a ramp parallel to the long side of the room, separated by a double-height masonry arcade. This entrance "loggia" gains substantial south and east light through a window wall to the exterior. The loggia ramp encourages an interactive social structure by connecting the various levels of the school to the new Activity Center and the renovated classroom areas. Intended as the primary path through the Lower School, the ramps are a place to gather and be seen.
Windows
A clerestory along the roof trusses incorporates insulated translucent panels and provides substantial natural light throughout the day. This room provides students, teachers and parents places to sit, watch and play. At the north wall, facing the outdoor paved playing area, are five "window boxes". Sitting steps lead up to the window boxes and provide places to rest at the playground edge. Inside, the entry portals to these boxes are child-size - they are not for parents or teachers. At the east end of the room, large door panels supplement natural light entering the room and provide a view to the woods beyond. Closed, they provide a safety barrier for the end wall during play.
Walls and Structure
Exposed systems form the spatial enclosure of the Activity Center. Structural and mechanical systems are organized and layered to code the building and the methods of its construction. The primary structure is ground-face block bearing walls with an open brick cavity wall supporting structural steel girders, beams and decks. Exposed steel lintels and beams support openings through the bearing walls. At the exterior, brick faces the bearing walls and links the new building to the existing campus. The bearing wall on the north side is divided by structural "straps", alternatively carrying the panels of brick while providing an avenue for ventilation within the pressure-equalized wall. A full brick is left out in the middle of the panel to provide a path of ventilation. Visually, these technical elements are expressed as part of the wall composition.
Materials
Materials include ground-face block, brick, teak windows, wood panels and painted metal. All were chosen as components of a durable, self-finishing palette, materials with inherent color and surface characteristics which weather gracefully.
© 1997– KieranTimberlake
[ 420 N 20 Street, Philadelphia PA 19130.3828 | V 215 922 6600 F 215 922 4680 ]
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