The new Pine Shadows, built around the idea of the natural environment, is stunning visually with its raised entry tower, a curvy front façade, open and expansive student library with winding access stairway, and floor-to-ceiling windowed, two-story inner atriums.
The new Pine Shadows Elementary was rebuilt on the site of the old school, which had faulty air conditioning and other age-related facility issues. The new, two-story educational building of 118,000 square feet was built to house up to 800 students.
Designed to be both a child and community-friendly space, the large, open building has four child-friendly areas, or habitats - ocean, rainforest, mountains and sky. At the classroom level, wildlife ranging from ocean whales to bears can be found on pixilated glass images placed near class doorways.
The library, cafeteria and other new spaces can be easily configured to provide community or after-school meeting spaces. Outdoors, a walking trail has been created and a new SPARK Park will soon be built. Site landscaping will occur early this fall.
The new school opening caps more than a year of preliminary design work and construction. For the past year, Pine Shadows students and staff were housed at the old Westwood Elementary School transition site.
