Photo by The Thrasher Group.
Photo by The Thrasher Group.
“ Every school and school district operates differently,” says Adam Krason, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, ALEP, CEO, principal and architect at ZMM Architects & Engineers.“ There are varying curriculum and curriculum delivery methods and differences in student populations and needs. School districts have varying strategies for integrating technology into their schools and their classrooms.”
Krason says ZMM starts each project by listening. By involving administrators, teachers, parents, specialists, security, maintenance, food service staff and even students in the design process, ZMM provides solutions that reflect each community’ s unique vision.
With the Woody Williams Center being built within a repurposed commercial building, it features flexible labs and classrooms designed to evolve with technology and workforce demands.
“ Due to rapid technological advancements and changes to curriculum delivery strategies, we place a high priority on delivering schools that provide spaces that are flexible, adaptable and resilient,” says Carly Chapman, ALEP, director of interior design for ZMM.“ This flexibility is critical because the technology and methods are advancing so quickly that there are often changes between the completion of design and the completion of construction.”
Delivering innovative projects like this requires more than design vision. It also depends on a competitive bid process. Architects and engineers are selected based on their qualifications to design a school. Qualifications often include past performance, proximity to the project, qualifications of the design team and the approach to delivering the project.
“ We take our clients’ budgets seriously and ensure that efficient and inspiring building designs are constructed after a competitive bid process,” says David Ferguson, AIA, REFP, COO, architect and principal at ZMM.“ This ensures that our clients receive the maximum benefit return on investment, regardless of whether it’ s funded publicly or privately.”
Krason says ZMM also utilizes sustainable design features in its projects. This allows the school building itself to act as a learning tool. ZMM has developed materials for the teachers who will be working at the schools to demonstrate how the sustainable design principles that are employed in their school tie into the West Virginia Department of Education Content Standards.
In Greenbrier County, a once-outdated school building has turned over a new leaf. When the county’ s existing elementary school, located in a flood zone, reached a point where its infrastructure could no longer operate safely and efficiently, the Greenbrier County Board of Education turned to The Thrasher Group, Inc. for help. Rather than build something new, Thrasher reimagined the town’ s former high school into a modern elementary facility.
“ Every school project begins with a deep understanding of its users— students, teachers and administrators,” says Matthew Breakey, AIA, LEED AP, architect at Thrasher.“ We conduct interviews, host feedback sessions and do on-site observations to understand daily flow and pain points. For Alderson Elementary in Greenbrier County, we worked closely with the board of education and community stakeholders to balance educational standards with the practical needs of a modern learning environment. The design was directly informed by those conversations, helping us reimagine an existing structure into something that felt purpose-built from day one.”
Similar to the Woody Williams Center, flexibility was central to this project. Breakout areas encourage independent learning, technology hubs provide access to digital resources and classrooms are adaptable to accommodate evolving teaching methods.
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE