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Cincinnati Public Schools
The school was founded in 1974 as Cincinnati's second oldest magnet school and specializes in intensive instruction in German to primary school students. The school has been consistently ranked among the best in the city scholastically.
The 89,000 SF school accommodates 650 students, Pre-K through 6th grade and is located on a prominent six acre corner site in the Clifton neighborhood. An 1860's stone carriage house, part of a grand residence once on the site, is undergoing renovation by the Clifton Community Arts Centre.
The shape of the new school when combined with the carriage house creates a courtyard enclosing the pre-school playground and the school's outdoor gathering area. The carriage house will be available for students to pursue performance arts.
Classrooms are grouped in a three story wing with the gymnasium, cafeteria, art and music classrooms and the library/media center located north of this wing. School offices are adjacent to the main entrance along the school's driveway. Signage throughout is bilingual.
The building was constructed almost entirely in precast concrete. Exterior walls are partially clad in ivory-colored brick that matches the color of the 1906 School across the street; the remainder is exposed aggregate that matches the color of the carriage house stone. The exterior precast panels were designed using a strict proportioning system. Window opening sizes were the largest possible for the width of the panels.
On the site resides one of the largest species of yew trees (taxus capitata cuspidata) in Ohio. The building was designed around the tree, which became a feature for the school entrance.
Human Nature (landscape architects) devised a site design strategy which uses fluid, organic shapes to contrast the natural setting with the orthogonal geometry of the buildings.