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School Design

McKinley Elementary School Library
Location:
Wauwatosa, WI
Scope:
Provided master planning, referendum support, and architectural design services for a new 77,600sf elementary school

McKinley Elementary School

Wauwatosa, WI

In 2018, following a successful $124.9 million referendum, the Wauwatosa School District embarked upon a program of facility modernization and replacement affecting fourteen schools.

McKinley Elementary School is a 77,600sf replacement school serving 4k-5 grades. This school is built from a common ‘kit of parts’ developed for use on all of the projects, causing initial concern within the neighborhood. Listening sessions allowed the local community to offer ideas used to develop a unique character for the school, such as placing the building to provide green space easily accessible by neighboring homes, using durable exterior materials and design detailing to link the building to local historical architecture, and the use of internal materials and amenities salvaged from the prior school and displayed in a number of unique ways. The new McKinley Elementary is the result of community input, providing modern learning spaces in a way that links children and families across generations.

McKinley Elementary was awarded the Award of Excellence from IIDA Wisconsin Chapter. This project was also featured my OnMilwaukee as part of their Urban Spelunking articles.