By
Digital Crayon Article 2 – The Planning Process In this article, we discuss the steps to consider when embarking on a major facility project. For many educational institutions, major projects evolve from their strategic plan, which provides the broad objectives and rationale for the initiative. This is […]
By
Welcome back to school and another series of Digital Crayon! This year we will explore school design through 12 articles we hope you will find both thought provoking and useful. It’s our way of sharing the exciting conversations about education we have with our clients and colleagues in the broader educational community. Digital Crayon 2013 […]
By
THE NEXT EARTHBAG CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANKHU VILLAGE FARM FOR WOMEN This spring, TruexCullins architects are collaborating with Edge of Seven and The Mountain Fund to create a new Community Center specifically for women at the Mankhu Village Farm in rural Nepal. The center will be built using earthbag construction and will complement the existing programs […]
By
Last week we announced an exciting new campaign with Edge of Seven, a 501(3)c non-profit organization that works to build infrastructure and provide opportunity for women and girls in rural Nepal. Edge of Seven typically partners with local groups in Nepal to facilitate their projects and ensure that they are community focused and locally driven. […]
By
The international scope of the TruexCullins Education Studio has brought us to some of the far corners of the world. Our work on K-12 school design and planning projects has reached over a dozen countries including Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and Brazil. Now we find ourselves in Nepal, with a unique opportunity that […]
By
For a few years now, we have been giving a presentation entitled “Design for the Whole Child”, which describes our view of the goal of school design. The thesis is this: the mission of schools has expanded to address the needs of the whole child: academic, social, emotional and physical. When we design schools, we […]
By
Anglo-American School of Sofia, Bulgaria TruexCullins Architecture recently won national awards for their design of the Anglo-American School of Sofia (AAS), an authorized International Baccalaureate World School located in Bulgaria. TruexCullins was hired to create the “Vitosha Wing”, the new home for the middle and high school programs. The $8 million expansion, included site planning […]
By
posted by David Epstein, AIA, LEED AP In the last article, we discussed how greening an existing school is often more difficult than building a new school. The same could be said for integrating 21st century learning concepts into an existing facility. Despite the challenges, I would say this is a goal of every school […]
By
posted by David Epstein, AIA, LEED AP In our last article, we discussed the sustainability in a general way as viewed through the lens of the LEED Green Building Rating System. I am sure many of you are wondering: how do I green my existing facility. Here again, looking at LEED’s Existing Building: Operations + Maintenance […]
By
In light of recent tragic events, I thought it would be timely to discuss safety and security at schools. It is always a difficult discussion. In many of our local schools, there is a feeling that the community is safe and something bad couldn’t happen here. The shooting in Essex, Vermont in 2006 certainly shifted […]
By
posted by David Epstein, AIA, LEED AP Sustainability, Green Schools, Environmental Design – it goes by many names these days. Everybody wants it for their schools, but few schools understand what it means and the level of commitment required to make it happen. We believe sustainable design is a great fit for schools because it […]
By
posted by David Epstein, AIA, LEED AP In our last conversation, we looked at the Learning Commons (aka Library) and started discussing technology. This is a subject worth spending a little more time on. While schools we work with are all increasingly integrating technology into the learning experience, they are all at different parts of […]