James Baldwin Elementary School

Core Design Team

Firm: NAC Architecture

Kevin Flanagan – Principal in Charge
Boris Srdar – Design Principal
Matt Rumbaugh – Project Architect
Amy Jain – Project Manager
Giselle Barnes – Architectural Designer
Chas Gold – Architectural Designer
Natalie Curtin – Interior Designer

Consultants/Collaborators

Structural/Civil Engineer: Coughlin Porter Lundeen
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer: Hargis Engineers
General Contractor/Construction Manager: Lydig Construction
Landscape Architect: Fora Landscape
Building Envelope Consultant: Building Envelope Technology & Research
Client: Seattle Public Schools

Project Narrative

The new James Baldwin Elementary School replaces a building on the same site. The design began in 2019 and doors opened to students in fall of 2023.

Design Capacity: 650 students
Building Area: 99,723 sf
The previous building was 41,000 SF, with an approximate student population of 300.
Construction Cost: $60.2 Million Total

Context: The School Community
The educators and community at the formerly named Northgate Elementary School were working to engage their diverse student body in the best way they could, but the existing school building did not support them in this endeavor. They desired a solution for their new school that genuinely supported learning for all students.
Context: The School Community

11-25% homeless, 40% transient
41% Hispanic, 23% African American, 18% white, 18% other
35% ELL, students with limited English proficiency
73% Free and Reduced Lunch
High percentage of students with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – trauma directly or indirectly related to housing instability and living situations
Many immigrant and refugee families – 20 spoken languages.
Staff and social services address a wide variety of student needs.

“Our students are not defined by statistics except that they are 100% awesome.”
Dr. Dedy Fauntleroy – Planning Principal of James Baldwin Elementary School

Key Challenge
Design a building that answers three questions:

What does equity look like in a building?
How can a building support students experiencing homelessness and trauma?
How can school architecture support literacy?

Primary Design Influences
As a replacement school, James Baldwin Elementary School presented an opportunity for its community, staff, and students to reflect on their shared values and school culture, and re-envision how a building could be inspirational and restorative for their community. To ensure that as diverse a set of voices as possible could influence the design, the principal worked creatively to make the Advisory Team accessible to more parents. This diverse team identified some large issues they wanted their new school design to address.

Community-Driven Design with a Focus on Equity
The design process was heavily influenced by the active and engaged community of educators, parents, and community members. The central question guiding the design was, “What Does Equity Look Like in a Building?”
Support for a Diverse and Vulnerable Student Population
The school community is diverse, with a high percentage of students with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), especially a transient population experiencing homelessness and many families who are recent immigrants and/or are learning English. The design team and stakeholders focused on understanding and addressing the needs of these students, and developing architectural solutions to address these specific needs.
Culturally Responsive and Inspirational Design
The project embraced culturally responsive design principles, aiming to create a culture of belonging and inspiration within the school. This included using art from people of color as design references, using “mini-libraries” to create refuge spaces that support literacy, and the “Wall of Luminaries” intended to inspire students to imagine themselves as a future luminary.

The Response
Design a school that supports the students who need the most support and, in so doing, support ALL students.

DESIGNING FOR EQUITY. James Baldwin Elementary School serves a diverse population with many vulnerable students coming from trauma, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and other challenges. The design supports students furthest from educational justice with a “tapestry” of spaces at different scales where students can interact and feel safe. A curved, meandering hallway weaves through the school, removing any institutional feel and adding a sense of discovery. Every space is filled with natural light; biophilic connections to the outdoors give visual relief.

PROJECT KICK-OFF WORKSHOP: DESIGNING FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
The project began with a workshop at the District offices exploring how school architecture can support students and families that have housing insecurity or are experiencing homelessness. The workshop brought together District Educators, McKinney-Vento Coordinators*, Seattle homelessness support workers, Mary’s Place Coordinator**, School principals, capital projects staff, and the design team, including our research department leader.

This group appreciated the rare chance this project brought to allow coordination between people and groups. This group discussed the needs of families, students, and school administrators/educators in light of recent research. Some of the group conclusions included:

To support students, you must support entire families.
Students need to receive support in a way that normalizes the experience and they still feel a strong sense of belonging with the entire school community.
Students experiencing homelessness and related trauma will need their basic needs met (food, clean clothes, shower) but will also require support that allows them to stay engaged in their education and minimize time away from their class and teacher.
The experience of the natural environment is restorative. A restorative physical environment creates opportunities to connect both visually from inside the building and physically through easy access to outdoor experiences.

This workshop led to the creation of a new space for the District – a family room. This space provides resources and support for families in a comfortable and non-threatening environment that is near the main office without being part of the main office.

*McKinney-Vento Homelessness Act authorized federal support funding for children experiencing homelessness.
**Mary’s Place is a local non-profit that supports families experiencing homelessness and related trauma, especially families of single women and children.

Defining Educational Goals and Values
The School Design Advisory Team consisted of parents, community members, and educators that collaborated with the design team to set values, goals, and design direction for the new school. The school principal worked hard to ensure that parents who might not otherwise have been able to participate were included.

The Advisory Team and the design team investigated the core questions that would define a successful school including supporting students experiencing homelessness, literacy, and embedding equity in the design. The Advisory Team challenged and inspired the designers to pursue solutions that were both practical and inspirational. They set lofty goals and pushed for tangible results in the building.

Rather than just saying they wanted an “inviting” building, the Advisory Team said “The Building should feel non-institutional.”
Rather than just saying they wanted “variety” or “flexibility” in their building, they wanted “A Tapestry of Spatial Choices to support learners in many ways, achieving multiple goals at once.”

As the new school is planned to grow to over twice the previous student population, the Advisory Team identified building scale and the scale of each neighborhood within the school as a key concern. They articulated that they wanted “A strong sense of community at multiple scales.”

Culturally Responsive Design: Creating a Culture of Belonging
As the design direction was set, a Culturally Responsive Design Committee (CRDC) was established by the principal with community members, artists, and the school art teacher. This group met multiple times with the design team to provide feedback and direction on how the design details and finishes could be responsive to the school and community culture. The CRDC discussed relevant cultural references that could inspire the design and how art (especially student created) can be a great connector and way to equalize the playing field and allow all students to equally participate.

An inclusive school environment helps everyone feel like they belong throughout their daily experience. To that end, gender inclusive restrooms were provided throughout the school. They consist of individual stalls with full height walls and solid doors for privacy. The handwashing sinks are located outside of the stalls in a common area off of the hallway – within view and earshot of classrooms to allow for passive supervision. This school is one of the initial schools within the District with all gender inclusive restrooms. After their first year of use, staff feedback has been positive.