Northwood High School
Silver Spring, MD

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Size:

363,535 SF new construction, replacement building

 

The Northwood High School design represents a paradigm shift in teaching philosophy that is based on critical and creative thinking, which prepares students for college and careers. The flexible building design for the school will promote a philosophy of adaptable classrooms and facilitate various presentation formats and learning activities.

 

The proposed four-story replacement building will be organized around a courtyard and will be divided into two sections: the academic areas to the north and the activities areas to the south. The academic area is organized around a light filled courtyard with an administration suite. The ground floor will also include the wellness center, counseling, Career Child Development (CCD), and the art suite with direct access to the courtyard. The three stories of academic spaces are designed to promote interdisciplinary learning with open collaborative learning areas serving a cluster of classrooms. The one-story activities area is organized along a “street” with an open flexible dining area facing on and with direct access to the courtyard and a learning stair on the east end.

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Samaha employed a continuous value engineering approach through the school design which started with programming. Our team proposed opportunities to reduce building square footage through compatible multi-use spaces. One example is the seating in the auditorium that is retractable to provide open floor space for two dance classrooms. As material costs increase rapidly our commitment to cost control is as important as ever.