Slate Upper School

Our design for Slate Upper School focuses on the site’s natural features to create an inspiring and immersive campus that will live in tandem with Slate Lower School. A discrete entrance and parking area to the east of the site allows a buffer of existing and newly planted vegetation between school traffic and surrounding neighbors. Travelling from the parking area to the Upper School campus, a footbridge brings students over a valley of wetland soils and gradually reveals the new building.

As the understanding and learning of students evolve through their time at the Lower School, so does the design of the Upper School work as an evolution from the Lower School. Learning environments become more intricate while remaining flexible—rather than design to specific subjects, spaces are open and exciting, offering areas to experiment, explore, create, and collaborate while overlooking the natural campus landscape.  

Designing a building in harmony with its environment also means embracing sustainable design strategies. This includes optimizing building orientation and window design for solar gain, creating robust wall and roof assemblies to minimize thermal loads, and prioritizing low-carbon, healthy materials that will contribute to the well-being of building occupants and our environment.