Month: July 2019
SPS Early Childhood Center -Under Budget!
Posted By Sapp Design – Jul 25 | 2019
Over the last 7 months, Sapp Design Architects and Paragon Architecture have been collaboratively designing Springfield Public Schools newest Early Childhood Center and are proud to announce that it recently bid well under budget!
The new Southwest Region Early Childhood Center is a 36,000 square foot new school facility for four and five-year-old students. This two-story building contains a rooftop deck play area, covered outdoor play areas, activity spaces, a STEM water table, a tornado safe room/ music and art room, a P.E. space, administrative space, a serving kitchen, and 12 classrooms with shared restrooms, storage, and offices between classroom pairs.
The building is situated on a sloping site overlooking South Creek, the South Creek Greenway Trail, and surrounding treeline. The natural features and restrictions of the site brought inspiration to the concept, the building located on the site and the building features. The concept was to design a building that is inspired by nature and becomes an inherent component of its context. The building emerges from the hillside and transcends into the tree canopy becoming an abstracted modern treehouse.
PRESENTING ON SCHOOL SAFETY
Posted By Sapp Design – Jul 10 | 2019
The Sapp Design team was asked to present on school safety and our work on securing new and existing facilities at the MSBA’s 2019 Center for Education Safety. Our presentation focused on the challenges districts face in today’s world of protecting our kids and minimizing opportunities for an intruder to gain easy access into buildings. Our presentation will review different options to improve the safety and security of schools during school hours from unwanted intrusion without building a fortress. Key strategies and simple retrofits to existing buildings and smart design for new facilities that help keep our kids safe.
About the Center for Education Safety
Ensuring our public schools remain among the safest places for our students, faculty, staff, and visitors is a top priority for every school district. A safe and secure learning environment is essential for student success. However, our schools continue to face numerous safety and security issues for which they must be prepared so effective teaching and learning can take place.
The Missouri School Boards’ Association’s Center for Education Safety (CES) is the only statewide school safety organization in Missouri and is supported and operated solely by MSBA. The CES is dedicated to enhancing various aspects of emergency planning, preparedness, and safety and security in schools throughout Missouri. CES not only provides professional expertise through its staff on specific topics, it also serves as a clearinghouse for reliable school safety information and resources.