Open School East
To better serve the student population in Portland’s Rockwood neighborhood, the new location for Open School, Open School East, is an innovative school model supported by the architecture in the new space.
Project Details
Location
Portland, OR
Client
Open School
Year Completed
2016
Project Size
21,000 sq. ft.
Land Recognition
We have a responsibility to not only acknowledge but also elevate Native communities and their needs. This project sits in the area currently known as Portland, which encompasses the traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River.
Educating ourselves is an important action. We encourage you to explore the stories of these communities through Native-led resources like David G. Lewis, PhD’s The Quartux Journal and Leading with Tradition.
Awards
- 2018 Gray Magazine Doing Good Award
- 2018 Contract Magazine Inspirations Award
- 2016 AIA Portland Merit Award
Empowering Youth Through Education
Educational nonprofit Open School is an innovative school model that prepares students for future success in college, their careers, and/or their communities. The organization was historically located in North Portland, but a shift in their student population meant there was a greater need for a space to support students who live in the outer east side of Portland. The development, created in conjunction with the new Rockwood Boys & Girls Club and New Avenues for Youth Opportunity Center, provides safe and inspiring community youth spaces to learn, play, and socialize.
Designed for Success
Open School East is a 21,000-square-foot facility that serves students grades 9-12. The architecture reinforces the school’s learning model: it provides space for opportunity. Teaching spaces are organized around a central bleacher stair, which is used as a formal and informal gathering area. The volumes that house the classrooms are shifted along the edges of the central space, creating informal nooks that bring daylight into the hallways and accommodate small-group instruction, individual tutoring, and informal check-ins.
Inspired, Flexible Spaces
The cascading bleacher stair in the central space connects both floors, seats 200 people, and is intended to host a wide range of impromptu activities.
Equity & Academics
Open School East provides 11 classrooms, two science labs, an art studio, administrative spaces, and various flexible areas. The space seeks to foster community, spark learning, and reengage youth with academics.
...a new, warm, light-filled building that reinforces the school’s mission of inspiring students to overcome obstacles and succeed in higher education.— Theresa Carson, Portland Tribune
