The Whitley County Board of Education sought to develop a new facility to provide daycare, preschool, kindergarten and adult education for the surrounding community. Utilizing a public grant for partial funding, the 250-student facility was designed as an addition to the existing Oak Grove Elementary School.
The new space includes classrooms for daycare, Head Start and kindergarten, as well as a large, shared multipurpose room designed to support community use.
Preschool and kindergarten classrooms each feature five computer stations, ample storage, cubby spaces and dedicated restrooms. Each classroom features zoned learning areas to maximize the space’s ability to support widely varied types of instruction.
Daylighting was a central feature of the design of the new facility. Sunshades were utilized to maximize the infiltration of natural light while minimizing glare and solar heat gain. In cases when supplementary lighting is needed, highly efficient lighting outfitted with occupancy sensors that turn off lights in unoccupied areas were used to minimize energy consumption.
Outside the building, preexisting stormwater issues that previously plagued the school and surrounding neighborhood were mitigated. Two outdoor play spaces were created and new pedestrian and automotive circulation were designed to provide a separation from the rest of the school.
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