Bellevue Christian Schools
By: Frances Putman
Bellevue Christian Schools, located in King County Washington, near Seattle, serves about 1,350 students in preschool through 12th grade. Within the system are a preschool facility, two elementary schools, a junior high school and a high school.
In the 1980s, Bellevue established an elementary school in Woodinville, a rural area not far from Bellevue, to be more convenient for students in that area. For many years, what is now Mack Elementary School operated out of a local church. Eventually, the system purchased 20 acres and worked with Sclater Partners Architects, P.C. to develop a school facility to meet its needs.
The first step was developing a master plan, including a first phase, which was completed soon after, and a design to complete the school, with additions to come about as funds were available.
At the time the master plan was developed, there was even some concern about the funding needed for the first phase, which included a 2,500-square-foot administration building, a 9,200-square-foot classroom building and a 6,700-square-foot learning resource center. It is the school system’s policy not to incur debt on buildings, so all planning was done very carefully. That was one reason the school was built in three separate buildings.
“If the school ran short on money, at least they could complete one or two buildings,” recalled Bradley R. Smith, an architect with Sclater Partners, who worked with the school on the project. In the end, all three buildings were completed, with the covered play area added later.
Since later additions to the school also will be separate buildings, there will not be the challenge of matching materials exactly or trying to make an addition appear that it always has been part of the structure. In some cases, there is only 20 to 30 feet between the buildings, but it is enough to allow each to stand alone.
Because Woodinville is a rural area, with lots of barns and outbuildings, the design of the school fits well in its surroundings, which was a major goal from the beginning. The forms of the local barns and shelters were used in the campus design. The building materials were chosen to connect the school with its natural, rural setting.
Wide overhangs with bracing, board and batton siding and gabled roofs all lend themselves to the rural feel of the campus. The school’s exterior is primarily concrete block, covered with the siding. A concrete masonry, rural stone base is durable and easy to maintain, and bright red accents are reminiscent of traditional red barns dotting the landscape. Other primary and bright colors used throughout are not only attractive, but are also visually stimulating to young students.
Smith describes it as being colorful, without being insulting.
“It’s not like it is made out of Legos,” he said, adding there are fun elements and places where kids can climb around and explore.
One of the focal points of the project is a sunken story time area, ringed by nine 30-foot timbers that extend through the ceiling in the learning resource center.
“We were trying to make an exciting space, where children could touch the logs,” said Smith. “It’s an intimate space within the library.”
Two soaring windowpane walls connect in one corner of the area, offering wonderful wooded views from the room. Raised ceilings and skylights also let in lots of light and give the area an open and airy feel.
Because the school will be building out its campus over a number of years, much care was taken at the outset to reduce costs and simplify the building process down the road. Before construction began, the very hilly landscape was graded and developed for the entire multi-phased project. It took more time and money at the beginning, but now it is done.
“Probably one of the smartest things we did was to get approval (from the zoning boards) for the entire project at once,” Smith said. “It was a big pill to swallow, but better to swallow it now.”
Architects and school leaders knew that since the building would take place over many years, it might be difficult to get proper building permits down the road. New people come on the zoning boards with different ideas, and regulations can change over time. The local government sometimes imposes building moratoriums and has at times shown reluctance to issue permits for facilities that could bring in significantly more traffic. There was a concern that this could affect the ability of the school to grow.
To avoid all of this, architects and school leaders met with planning and zoning officials and got approval for the entire project at once. Now, they don’t have to go back and get approval each step of the way, when major changes might have to be made, creating additional expense.
Smith’s advice for schools considering a similar building project is to consider the long-term objectives of the school. Principals, teachers, students and parents come and go, he noted. It’s important not to design based on the whims of any of these groups.
“Whatever you do has to work for the next principal, the next group of teachers and the next set of parents,” he said.
To Sclater Partners Architect, www.Sclaterpartners.com, in Seattle, Washington, architecture is about creating a welcoming and comfortable environment—a space where people want to gather. The firm specializes in architectural design and planning for retail, mixed-use, office, hotel and tenant improvements as well as for educational institutions and non-profit agencies.
Fast Facts
School: Bellevue Christian Schools, Mack Elementary
Location: Woodinville, Washington
Number of Students: 206
Grades Served: Kindergarten through 6th grade
Architect: Sclater Partners Architects, P.C., Seattle, Wash.
Project Goal: The school, which had been holding classes in a local church, was ready to build a new facility. The idea was to create an inviting and visually interesting environment for children while incorporating the rural surroundings of Woodinville
Description of Project: Architects created a master plan, which called for construction in several phases over a number of years. The first phase included three buildings—an administrative building, classroom building and learning resource area. Later, a covered play area was added.
Size: 18,400 square feet for all three buildings
Cost: $1.9 million for the first phase; approximately $200,000 for play area
The challenge: Dealing with zoning issues, including gathering the right permits, can be difficult and tedious. With plans to build out the campus over several years, there was some concern that administrative changes within governmental agencies, or regulation changes over the years, might affect the school’s ability to complete the campus as planned. Having to make considerable changes to the master plan down the road could be expensive or even impossible.
The solution: Though it was initially more time-consuming, architects and school leaders met with the local planning and zoning board, working out details, gaining approval and getting permits for all building projects within the master plan. Later, even though a building moratorium was in place, the school was able to complete its covered play area as planned, since it already had been approved.
