Lauremont School Bayview Campus

The 22,500 sq.ft addition to the Lauremont School Bayview Campus features a new entrance, reception lobby, gymnasium, student common space, administrative offices, and a shipping and receiving area. Shaped as a semi-circle, the addition cradles the garden plaza in front of the building, marking the new main entrance to the lower school. Adorning the exterior curve of the building is a 230ft long glue-laminated timber canopy that provides a continuous covered walkway and an area for seating. The addition was designed to reflect the Montessori values of learning through materials, by creating an environment that promotes self-directed engagement with the warm and tactile timber.

Once inside, the reception lobby and common space is framed by a series of three-point glue-laminated timber arches positioned along the arc of the semicircular plan. Springing from the floor and rising 21ft, these feature arches provide an opportunity for direct contact to the materiality of the structure. Branching from these arches in a network of triangular patterns are a series of glue-laminated struts that supports the main roof beams. The mix of circular and triangular shapes along the radial plan allows one to see the variation that can occur across the semicircle from the repeated arched forms. The skylight and the triangular windows on the south facade allow light to stream into the space all day. This constant access to natural light means that as the sun moves, the shadows cast by the timber structure dance across the space accordingly. This creates a perceptual positive ambiguity, which stimulates the mind as it traces the crisp corners of the triangles and the sensual edges of the curves.