The existing suburban elementary school was originally built in the 1950s with a sprawling floor plan that created issues for students and teachers to effectively collaborate. Hazardous and outdated materials did not reflect the new-age education that the district encourages for all students. The existing site posed terrible and dangerous traffic patterns for buses as well as parent pick-up and drop-off. Demolition of the existing elementary school required the students to be relocated to the district’s middle school lower level, emphasizing the importance of the project’s timely completion.

Several site studies were performed to find the best place for the new Palmer Elementary School. The new site nestled at the end of Palmer neighborhoods will maximize the potential to share the school with the township community. Traffic patterns have been improved to provide new separate bus and parent drop-off lanes. With inspiration from navigation, the approach for Alloy5 was to create a functional and efficient building with effortless wayfinding. With the community’s pride of the original school in mind, carrying over design elements from the old to the new would be essential in the construction.

This new construction project maximizes the efficiency of each floor plan for students and administration to function effectively during daily operations. Palmer Elementary School was developed to respond strategically to challenging and dynamic topographic attributes and actively engages current planned community-wide improvements to facilitate a smooth functional transition. At the entrance to the building, the community is greeted with a fireplace and clock, harkening back to the unique attributes of the original building. Inlayed on the floor, a compass with the district’s grade-level color program directs students throughout the building. Palmer’s completion is scheduled for summer 2023.