ARCHITECTURE | HONOR 

Entry Name: Fort Calhoun Elementary School
Firm: RDG Planning and Design
Owner: Fort Calhoun Community Schools
Photographer: RDG Planning and Design

Hidden in the humble neighborhood of a rural town, this addition and remodel sought to renew an architectural paradigm in the district, last challenged in the 1970s. 29,000 square feet of remodeled space was complimented by 8,000 square feet of new construction.

Sloping roofs and long, narrow punched openings are components of the nearby Fort Atkinson’s vernacular architecture. The fort was the western-most settlement and became the gateway to the west. Words such as frontier, verge, and gateway became strong concepts.

The southwest entrance of the school received a new gateway portal, showing a composition of the materials used on the project: stained cedar and long bands of glass, reminiscent of the wood construction and viewports of the fort; and a decorative concrete masonry unit referencing a nearby quarry. New classrooms added on the northeast are grounded as a dominant canopy plane folds to hover over the building. The verge of this plane sharply implies movement. Glass fills between wall and roof which supplies amble light to the interior spaces. The design represents the frontier of enhanced facilities that enable students to learn in a better way, and sets a modern framework for the district’s work in the future.

Jury Comments: A modest addition that is done clearly and simply, transforming the building. Attention to natural light coming into building and the angled plane allowing light into the corridor/space, makes what could be a claustrophobic situation into an inviting and generous space. Lots of ways to add five or six classrooms, but what they chose is very transformational.