Lakeridge Middle School
1 AIA LU|HSW

With its welcoming, biophilic environment, Lakeridge Middle School is designed to support the unique needs of the middle school learner. The design team will share how they delivered on the District’s challenge to create a school that would support learning for the next 100 years. The school features innovative learning environments, sustainable and resilient strategies, and design elements that focus on equity and community-building.

The presentation will cover details such as using wood construction to meet Seismic Risk Category IV, hybrid passive cooling to meet occupant comfort and budget, and gender-inclusive restrooms.

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The 141,000 SF school was configured to embrace the site’s mature trees. Twenty-nine trees that could not be saved were harvested and converted into interior and exterior structural columns. The biophilic elements within the building’s circulation, material palette, and performance re-enforce a connection to nature, which has been shown to create improved learning outcomes.

The “loop” organization of the building creates an engaging and active environment that exposes the teenage learner to multiple learning opportunities. The restroom’s non-gendered toilet rooms allow for privacy and safety for all students, regardless of gender identity.

Dubbed as “learning studios,” the learning spaces have been reimagined as a series of adjoining classrooms. Each tech-savvy classroom features multiple teaching walls, mobile technology, and flexible furniture, while the adjoining larger rooms are outfitted with hanging power grids, shop-style sinks, and mobile tool closets for shared project work.

The building is designed to be used as a community emergency shelter in case of a seismic or other disruptive event. It is designed as a Seismic Risk Category IV Structure, with enhanced lateral bracing throughout. A robust building envelope and operable windows allow the school to be habitable without any utility power. 

The school features hybrid-passive cooling systems in the classroom wings and cafeteria/commons. The system includes dampers that draw cool air through the building. It is aided by ceiling fans that mix the air within the rooms and exposed thermal mass. These strategies allow the building to reduce its energy use to a measured EUI of 22kBTU/sf/yr.

Learning Objective 1:
Explore the calming principles of biophilia in action and learn how material selection can improve health and wellbeing in students.

Learning Objective 2:
Identify how a public school can support the health of a community via low-cost resiliency measures.

Learning Objective 3:
Summarize ways to equitably support the learning center and identify resources and tools, including appropriate acoustics and daylighting.

Learning Objective 4:
Analyze how natural ventilation, air filtration, sinks, moveable walls, and inclusive restrooms facilitate the adjustment to a post-Covid world.

Speakers

Abby Dacey AIA LEED AP BD+C
Principal, Mahlum Architects

Abby has nearly 25 years of experience working with public and private institutions on campus and building design. She works with clients to find long-term solutions to complex challenges. She is adept at bringing together the voices from the client, user groups, contractor, and jurisdiction, all while ensuring that the design team has the resources to develop the right solution. With each project, she involves students’ voices and creates opportunities for them to learn more about building and design from the process.

Abby was a founding member of Architects Without Borders – Oregon, which provides pro-bono design services for communities in need. She has also served on the AIA-Portland board of directors and currently sits on the Architecture Foundation of Oregon board. With her professional work and service to the community, Abby advocates for design solutions that create stronger communities.

René Berndt AIA LEED AP
Associate Principal, Mahlum Architects

With almost 30 years of architectural experience, Rene offers extensive knowledge of learning environments that address the specific needs of every age group of learners. Through an engaging process that is based on active participation by all stakeholders, Rene deepens his understanding of the social, emotional, and physical characteristics, goals, and dreams of learners, educators, and community members on every project. His proposed design solutions aim to turn every building into a useful tool for all users, minimizing the ecological footprint and creating general wellbeing.

Rene enjoys sharing his work and research during university lectures and conference presentations. His work has been featured in numerous design publications, including Architectural Record, and has been recognized with diverse regional and national AIA CAE and A4LE design awards. Most notably for the MHCC Early Childcare Center in Gresham, Oregon, Thurston Elementary School in Springfield, Oregon, and Roosevelt Middle School in Eugene, Oregon.

Stephen Endy AIA LEED AP BD+C
Associate, Mahlum Architects

With 25 years of experience, Stephen is committed to developing innovative living and learning facilities. As project architect, he applies his passion for integrative sustainable design to help find cost-effective solutions that support client and community goals. Stephen enjoys balancing performance, student learning, occupant comfort, and material health with opportunities to provide surprise, wonder, and delight. Stephen chairs Mahlum’s internal Sustainability Steering Committee and was a contributing editor to the 2018 AIA COTE Top Ten Toolkit, which is now known as the national AIA Framework for Design Excellence.