Renovation and expansion at Horace Mann Elementary School is slated to begin during this year’s summer recess. The project falls under Washington’s modernization initiative for its public schools.
Located at 4430 Newark Street NW, the school will go from 20,250 square feet of physical space to nearly 60,000, according to the school’s design team.
"We just got our footprint of the building down and the arrangement of the rooms," says Michael Marshall, co-founder of Marshall Moya Design. “Now we’re working on the design of the façade.”
He says his firm’s focus is to try to "support the culture of the school" within the blueprint and try to tie science, math and arts together.
The first phase entails an overhaul within the historic building, installing a new heating and air conditioning system as well as new bathrooms and lighting. This part is scheduled for delivery before the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year.
The second phase could start September or October. The new addition will be connected to a two-story atrium in the existing building and serve as the main entry. A new library center, located towards the north end of the building, will also be constructed during this process.
Marshall says the design offers communal gardens throughout the campus, a green roof terrace, rooftop pavilion, and other features to achieve LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Kindergarten, first and second graders will share the renovated historic Mann building, while third, fourth and fifth graders will have classes in the new structure.
Marshall adds the city has allocated $10 million to start the project this summer.
Luis Velarde writes about business, investments, real estate, and urban development. His work has appeared in the BBC World Service, Voice of America and others.