Neighborhood improvements

To address overcrowding in their classrooms and the massive population growth in recent years, Atwater Elementary School District decided to build a new school on a parcel of land in town they already owned. Its ten acres were shy of the fourteen usually preferred for a school of 600 students. But with thoughtful design and programming, TETER was able to give the District everything it needed with the new Juniper Elementary School. Sports fields and the playground form a buffer to an adjacent retirement community on one side and visually connect to a park on another side. The classrooms, administration, and multipurpose buildings surround a courtyard that expands outdoor learning opportunities. We designed the multipurpose building with a suspended ceiling that utilizes a wave cloud to help carry the acoustics out to the audience. In order to support a partnership with a local playhouse, an outdoor stage was added for assemblies. Kindergarten has its own playground within a protected area. Now the city has a new school to serve the existing neighborhood, with no land costs or expensive redistricting, and everyone can exhale as they spread out.