St. Therese School - Kansas City, Missouri
By: Frances Putman
As church and school leaders at St. Therese Parish in Kansas City , Missouri , looked to the future, they weren't sure what to do about their campus. A new sanctuary had been built within the past few years, as well as a new gymnasium, but the elementary school was older and needed a lot of work. Should they try to keep it and update it, or build an entirely new facility? They needed a master plan and building design that would provide the best learning environment, enriched by a focus on Christ-centered education.
They turned to DLR Group's Kansas City office for direction. First, DLR completed a comprehensive facility assessment, which allowed parish leaders to look objectively at the space they had and what was needed to meet future needs. As a parish, they looked at potential for growth and how much space they would need for enrollment in years to come. From this, the decision was made to continue utilizing some existing buildings, but to also to build a new K-8 elementary school, which also would have plenty of space for community events, as well.
Architects from DLR worked with parish leaders through what is known as a "charette" process, where they actually sat down together and designed the new school building as a team. That facility is now the St. Therese Education and Parish Center , a K-8 facility that connects the existing 20,000-square-foot pre-K education center and 9,500-square-foot gymnasium. The new 96,000-square foot structure is built as two stories, situated on a steeply sloping site.
Because of the 17-foot difference between the top of the hill and the bottom, the school was designed to fit the slope. At the entrance of the school is a two-story common area that presents a dramatic façade. The two-story entrance, with a community prayer area and commons cafeteria, is often used by the parish for church or community events. Beyond this area are classrooms located on two separate floors, which are secluded from the more public areas. Space for the new school building was quite limited, as the campus is tightly configured, and the sloping hill presented even more of a challenge. Still, the design of the new school includes plenty of natural light for all classrooms. One way to accomplish this was to place storage and support areas closest to the hill, where less natural night was available.
The main entrance includes a reflection area that emphasizes Catholic values and supports the educational mission of the parish. Visitors first entering the building arrive at this dramatic space.
"Stepping into this space is awe-inspiring," said James D. French, AIA, NCARB, REFP, senior principal at DLR Group. "It is a community prayer area, with a curved, granite wall that reflects a statue of Jesus Christ with children around him. We tried to include as much symbolism as we could in the project, and this area is an example of that."
Crosses also are evident throughout the architecture. French said that it is important for religious schools to include that strong sense of symbolism wherever they can.
Just through the entranceway is a two-story commons cafeteria, which is used by both the school and the church. A prep kitchen serves well for both school and community functions, and an exterior patio provides a place for the parish's Knights of Columbus organization to have grills for barbecues.
Special touches throughout the school offer students creative expression. A performance stage was included in the school design, as well as an art studio, which includes a roof-top patio area.
For the interior of the school, materials like polished granite, carpet and vinyl tile were chosen for style and durability. For the exterior, standard brick was selected to coordinate with the sanctuary, which already was in place.
As architects with DLR worked so closely with parish leaders in the actual design process, strong relationships developed, which French believes was instrumental in the success of the project. Because of the close relationships, and involving as many people as possible in the process, there were fewer misunderstandings and disappointments along the way.
Because the parish chose to build a new school facility, students were able to attend classes in the old building until the new one was complete. This meant there was no disruption in class schedules during the 15-month building process.
For schools considering a similar building project, French suggests looking for an architectural firm that has designed many religious schools. Firms that have experience in religious architecture may not understand the unique needs of a school, and firms that have experience with public schools may not recognize the unique needs of a religious school.
"I would reinforce that the process should involve as many people as possible, not just teachers and administrators, but the congregation," French noted, pointing out that a congregation's donations and tithes to the church are important to the school's success. And, he suggested school leaders pick the best architectural firm and contractor they can find, not just going with the lowest bid.
The DLR Group, www.dlrgroup.com , is an award-winning, employee-owned planning, architectural and engineering firm with more than 500 employees in offices throughout the United States . The firm provides design services for the education, corporate, hospitality, retail, justice and sports markets.
Fast Facts
School: St. Therese School
Location: Kansas City , Missouri
Student Body: 900 students
Grades Served: K-8
Project Goal: Conduct an extensive assessment of the parish's facilities and design a new school building to integrate into the existing campus
Size: 96,000 square feet
Cost: $9.5 million
Challenge: The site for the school was small and located on a hill. In fact, the site was 17-feet lower at the bottom of the hill than at the top.
Solution: The school was designed with a towering, two-story open common area, with classrooms split between two stories. Areas closest to the hill are used primarily for storage, which still allows all the classrooms to receive plenty of natural light.
