Marie Hughes Elementary School is currently housed in a 45,000 square foot building with 24 portable classroom units on the site. An extensive building and site analysis was done at the beginning of the project. During the study, our design team found that the building mechanical and electrical systems were failing and the existing learning spaces did not adequately meet the needs of the school. It was determined to be less expensive to build a new school than construct an addition and fix the existing buildings. After exploring dozens of possible master plans, the most economically feasible location for the new school was to construct the buildings on an open field located north of the existing school. The field is part of the existing school site and it allowed the current school to safely remain open during construction.
The site for this project is at the base of Boca Negra Canyon, which is part of the West Mesa escarpment, a 17-mile long cliff of dark basalt boulders created by six volcanic eruptions occurring about 200,000 years ago. Water, sun, heat, cold, and microbial action have oxidized minerals in the basalt, producing a thin patina of dark desert varnish. The design intent of the new buildings is to reflect this beautiful geology and synthesize it into the architecture. Dark tile cladding on the building echoes the dark strata of the canyon. A portion of the kitchen juxtaposes this mass and will be clad in simple oxidized steel panels to reinforce the notion of geologic aging. The two story classroom building is clad in a simple and serviceable metal skin, the colors for which were inspired by the volcanic cliffs of the nearby West Mesa escarpment.