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.)
- THIS OPTION IS THE ONLY ONE THAT SHOWS A FOURTH FLOOR–THIS IS THE SMALL 7TH/8TH GRADE WING THAT APPEARS TO FLOAT TO THE RIGHT OF THE UPPER FLOOR IN THE DRAWING.
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-d NULL.jpg)
I think option D is a very good option. And I think you should do that one. I think that it is a good option because it has 4 stories high and the kindergarden room hall is longer so the 1st grade doesn’t have to have a kindergarden room next to it. But I still think that you should put another playscape.(PS Im a kid.)
I would like to ask why none of the scetches don’t make use of the land on Druce street. There is a lot of expansion space for the K wing here and could easily double to 2 floors. For the many years I have been around this corner space is selomly used. I know there is a nice wall there, but it could be easily moved.
Thanks,
Christian
Option C is the only one with a 2 story K wing (housing Grade 6 upstairs). As far as the Druce St. land goes, the architects have said they are constrained by setback requirements (and there may also be a deposit of shale? in front which is why the original bldg is not aligned with the street.) Still, this is all worth double-checking at the meeting.
This comment applies to all the options presented here. It’s about the auditorium … er, I mean “multi-purpose room.” My comment is simply a strong opinion: We should have an auditorium, not a room.
The auditorium should have permanent, raked seating (so kids don’t have to sit on the floor and parents on folding chairs). It should not have parallel walls so it is more likely to have good acoustics for music, drama, film and lectures. It should be a focal point in the school, not an extra room at the end of a little-used hallway (a minor point, though … I don’t much care where the auditorium would be so much as that it exist).
Take a moment to visit the new Lincoln school’s auditorium to see what I mean. It’s central, warm (like a colonial era recital hall), accessible (stage is on the same level as the rooms where pianos and other equipment are kept), not too large, and only multi-purpose in the sense that any good auditorium is used for several different purposes.
I know there are precious little details in these sketches, but I also know that the project is going to move forward quickly. If you care about having an auditorium befitting the stature of our school, please let the renovation planners know.
You can read more about school auditorium design at this site I just found about school design:
http://www.schooldesigner.com/Articles/Auditorium-Design.asp (http://www NULL.schooldesigner NULL.com/Articles/Auditorium-Design NULL.asp)
This plan would disrupt the current middle school environment on the third floor. The 7th/8th graders up on the third floor currently have a mini -middle school within a school – which I think is benefitial to them. This plan would make this concept difficult in the new school and also isolates the 7/8th graders by themselves – for this reason I do not like this plan. Two of the other plans have an organization with K/1/2 on ist floor; 3/4/5 on second and 6/7/8 on the third. This organization would work better to maintain the mini – middle school environment.
I agree with Paul about the auditorium. I love the Lincoln school auditorium and know it well since I was in a chorus hosted there. It has space to change, space for storage and connects to the multi-purpose room for easy access. It has nice chairs and pathways on either side. It is really great. I also agree with Michelle (since I am a 7th grader) in the sense that the organization of the classrooms now is good. Also, in all of the options, it seems that the gym is on lobby level while the cafeteria is on the bottom level. I don’t think that this is a good idea. I like the cafeteria where it is now, it is easy to access for all grades.
Let me know what you think about these ideas for better use of the old gymnasium space:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3SfCUcesU0 (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=O3SfCUcesU0)
- Paul