Net Zero Elementary + Middle School: Graceland Park-O'Donnell Heights

Tucked in the inner city of Baltimore, two outdated existing elementary/middle schools, Graceland Park/O'Donnell Heights and Holabird Academy, were in desperate need of replacement. Baltimore City Public Schools was eager to design a new prototype with a world-class program to integrate collaborative teaching, learning, and equitable sustainable design in their resource-constrained school district.

With identical footprints, both Graceland and Holabird's academic programs are organized into flexible, grade group clusters that feature shared, collaborative learning spaces. A variety of learning environments are provided in each cluster to allow for the accommodation of different student learning styles. Realizing the importance of giving both schools their own character, each have a distinct exterior palette reflecting their community. Learning takes place everywhere on these neighboring campuses, preparing the scholars for successful STEM careers.

Clerestory windows, tubular skylights that are dimmable, exterior sunshades and interior roller shades all prevent glare and optimize natural daylighting in learning and gathering spaces such as this mutli-functional Cafetorium.

Graceland has over 1300 photovoltaic panels on it's roof, including demonstration panels such as the dual-axis tracker and fixed-angle panels visible on the Solar Lab. Students are encouraged to observe efficiency of panels and understand how orientation and weather affect the energy harvest via a real-time energy dashboard system. Project based learning prepares middle school scholars for careers in renewable technology and clean energy.