Chief Manuelito Middle School

Elementary Schools | Middle Schools | High Schools | Specialized Educational & Administrative Facilities | K-12 Trends

The design charge for this school was to create an enlivened educational environment that serves as a bridge between elementary school and high school. The design uses a “school within a school” configuration to provide independent grade level focus while encouraging opportunities for interaction between grades. The smaller environments created within the larger school facilitate opportunities for team teaching and allow students to adjust to larger social settings gradually.

The building response to the design charge was to organize the grade level classrooms on individual floors of the two, two-story wings. Within each grade level, classrooms and support spaces are arranged in a pod arrangement that imitate an elementary school pattern. An intersecting common use spine connects the pods and gymnasium to the library and acts as a node of interaction for the students. This configuration is an effective and affordable solution to capture the benefits of a smaller scale school setting within a large school building.
 
Views and natural lighting were optimized to establish a dialogue between the building and the panoramic 65 acre site.  This relationship continues with the transition of exterior building materials and elements into interior spaces.  Materials and color were chosen not only for durability and function, but to also reinforce the “school within a school” concept and ignite common spaces with movement and visual play.     

This 166,000 square-foot building was designed for 800 students.  

Location: Gallup, NM
Size: 166,000sf