Arlington Elementary School

Tacoma, WA | 450 Student Elementary School | Completed Fall 2018

Project Role: Conceptual Design - Construction Documentation 

Challenge: With community graduation rates plummeting, how can we design a new typology for elementary schools that keeps students engaged, challenged, and consistently learning.

 

Solutions: Arlington Elementary School is designed with the primary goal of providing learning opportunities at every turn.

Students are provided the opportunity for constant indoor/outdoor connections and flexible classroom spaces facilitate smaller learning pods.

I designed a natural playground to help encourage safe risk-taking and confidence building. Natural elements are integrated across the site to reduce stress levels and connect students to the larger natural environment. 

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Perforated metal screens provide privacy and light to an outdoor classroom space. 

Arlington Elementary School

Logs from the site are scattered throughout the courtyards to engage students and act as a natural play element. 

User Interviews

Commonly skipped when designing new schools, I advocated for user interviews with our most important new user group - students!

We led Design Workshops, embracing an immersive and collaborative approach to design. Through those workshops and design exercises, we were able to develop a project tailored to the community. 

Arlington student-architect workshop
Arlington Elementary School

The playground includes everything you would want and then some. Including some natural play elements. I led the design of this feature while coordinating with project Architects, Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers, and City of Tacoma staff.

Arlington Elementary School

We utilized bright colors to create a fun and safe space for students. 

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Providing fun ways to walk, jump, or climb up a small hill. 


Lets build great products together!

Thanks for stopping by, contact me at: Saitelbachj@gmail.com 

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