The Cooper School (K-8)

Awarded:

• Association for Learning Environments (A4LE, formerly CEFPI) SC Chapter, Excellence in School Building and Design, Citation for Doing More with Less, 2013
• AIA Charleston, Honor Award, 2013

The Cooper School is a small private school serving grades K-8 with a 10-to-1 student-teacher ratio, located in the West Ashley area of Charleston, SC. The school required extensive site planning efforts to plan for an addition to their existing building. Working with a limited budget, our design process involved extensive collaboration with both faculty and students. The resulting design provides a new “front door” to the building and creates a striking street presence for the school, while also establishing a clear pedestrian and vehicular circulation path for the site. Program flexibility, the use of local and natural materials, and sustainability methods are employed in the design.