This sketch, along with 3 others, was submitted to the Runkle School Building Committee on April 7th. It will be presented again at a public meeting on Thursday, April 16th at 8:00 a.m. in the Runkle cafeteria. There is not cost information available at this time for any of the options. Cost information will be presented to the public at the Brookline School Committee meeting on Thursday, April 30th at 7:00 at Town Hall.
Things to think about when looking at this sketch:
- Druce Street is at the bottom of the page, Clinton Road is at the top.
- Blue ink represents existing structures, black in represents new structures.
- The ground/basement floor is on the far right of the page, the main/1st floor is in the lower left and the upper floor is in the upper left of the page.
- The three sciences rooms you see each represent a 6th, 7th or 8th grade “homeroom” as well. (This is why you only see 2 classrooms for each of those grades.)
Please use the comment field below to share your thoughts about this design. What do you like and dislike about this concept? As this is an early sketch, comments that focus on large issues of layout, site use, etc. will be most useful at this phase.
Links to other options:
For more information, see previous Renovation Report blog entries:
(http://beta NULL.runkle NULL.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/rnk-opt-c NULL.jpg)
There seemed to be 4 main concerns or wishes voiced by parents about what they wanted to see in the new school. (These are in addition to the Auditorium vs. Multi-Purpose room debate and the Music room that still had no windows in any of the designs.)
Issues raised:
1. How to maximize usable outdoor place space.
2. How to use land in front of the school at the corner of Buckminster and Chesham.
3. Parents and teachers would like an “Outdoor Classroom” space.
4. RED needs space to run their program.
With a few tweaks, I believe that Option C can best accomplish all of these goals.
1. Option C appears to have the most usable outdoor play space. The slope and flat area of the field are left intact and there is a large indented space between the 2 wings that could hold a structure. It looks like this indented space would also have some space left over to run around in. Parents seemed to be divided about whether all broken up space (as seen in Option A) or all open space (as seen in Option B) was the best way to go. I think both are important. With the possibility of cutting down to 3 lunches per day, it seems like a lot more kids will be outside at recess at one time. The indent with the structure will be very helpful in keeping the younger kids in a safe and semi enclosed area, yet it looks like they will still have room to run around. (Unlike in Option B where it is proposed that a structure be put in the triangular, sloping wedge of land along Chesham.) It would still be great if the large slope in the rear could be leveled.
2. People seemed enamored with Option B because of the Courtyard space, which is being conceived of as an “Outdoor Classroom”. I’m not convinced that this will be a successful space for this. In addition to the issue about maintenance of the space, I think it is going to be shady and isolated from nature. Right now, the space next to the Kindergarten wing is where parents hang out after school because it is shady. In option B, this Courtyard space will be enclosed all around with walls so I can’t see how this wouldn’t make it even shadier. I don’t know how much gardening the kids will be able to do here. Also- because it will be completely enclosed, animals that live in the neighborhood (rabbits, foxes, turkeys etc.) wouldn’t be able to get in, so kids wouldn’t be able use the space to look for signs of animal activity- tracks, nests etc.
Another thing to think about in Option B is that when kids look out their classroom windows, they are going to look across a fairly narrow courtyard to another part of the building, instead of being able to look off into the distance.
3. Could the space at the front corner of the school (Buckminster and Chesham) be converted to an “Outdoor Classroom” instead? It is sunny, not enclosed by walls and not really used by anyone. Maybe a permit could be gotten from the town so that the kids could garden here? Even if they are not allowed to garden, I think this space can somehow be converted to a classroom space that can be used to observe nature, plants, animals, weather etc.
4. RED needs space to run their program. Three dedicated rooms seems excessive, but one dedicated room and two shared rooms seems more reasonable. In Option C, the three 2nd grade classrooms being located across from the Cafeteria doesn’t seem to be ideal. If one of these 3 rooms was a dedicated RED space and the other 2 spaces were PDD classrooms, I think it would be a better utilization of the space. If RED could then use these 2 PDD classrooms after school, this area of the building would become an “RED wing” in the afternoon. They would have consolidated program space, next to the Cafeteria and the outdoors, which they use all the time.
The three 2nd grade classrooms could then move around the corner near the 1st grade, where they are now. It looks like the PK room would need to be moved in order for this to work.
The PK room could move to the space where it is proposed to put Guidance, on the main level across from the Admin offices.
Guidance could move around the corner to where Health is located, and Health could move to the 2nd level where the three RED spaces had been located. Health is being taught to 8th graders (and hopefully 7th graders next year as well), so it belongs on this level.
Those 2 other rooms that would be left on the 2nd level could be used for Music, (if a windowed solution isn’t figured out for a Music room in its present location on the bottom level), OT, PT, or small group space etc.
These are some suggestions about how Option C could work. I’m afraid that there is a lot of enthusiasm for Option B because of the Courtyard, but I’m not sure that this option is practical. In addition to no separate areas for playing in the back, a possibly shady courtyard with limited views to expanses of space, the organization of the interior spaces doesn’t seem to be as well thought out as in Option C. There are lots of little spaces tucked everywhere, with locations of some of these seeming arbitrary. The entry to the back part of the building from the lobby on the main level, or the entry to this part of the building on the other levels seems confusing. There are lots of corners and stairwells in the transition space to this part of the building that I don’t understand. Would the back part of the school feel isolated and hard to find?