- Ladue School District
- Design Concepts & Process — LMS, Old Bonhomme, Spoede
Ladue Middle School, Spoede Elementary School, and Old Bonhomme Elementary School
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Leading Up to the Design Process
Developing architectural designs that fit the needs of Ladue Schools students in the short and the long term is a long, involved and evolutionary process. At the very beginning of the process, we seek to thoroughly understand our current buildings — their advantages, their limitations, the life expectancy of major systems and the topography on which they lie.
Another vital early step is getting extensive input from those who spend time in the current buildings on a regular basis to determine what educational needs are being fulfilled and which are not. To do this, Programming Teams were pulled together for the three schools which are anticipated to need the greatest amount of renovation: Old Bonhomme Elementary School, Spoede Elementary School and Ladue Middle School. These teams consist of administrators, teachers from each discipline and parents who are active in the school.
Four rounds of workshops were completed by these Programming Teams prior to the architects initiating the formal design process. The goals of these workshops, as well as the presentation decks used to guide the discussions, are listed below. The evolution from “big ideas and dreaming” to pragmatic, affordable solutions will be evident when chronologically reviewing these documents.
Programming Team Workshop - Round 1
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On Feb. 25, 2020, all three programming teams met as one to discuss the goals of this series of workshops. Immediately following this introductory meeting, the two elementary schools and the middle school met separately to begin their individual work, which included: developing guiding principals, defining “Future Ready Schools,” activity mapping and identifying the types of areas to be designed.
Introduction Workshop
Old Bonhomme & Spoede
Ladue Middle School
Programming Team Workshops — Round Three
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On April 3 and 6, the three groups met separately (and virtually) to see the work they had completed in Round Two translated into rough drawings indicating possible placement for various areas and size relationships. The groups provided feedback to the architects so they could move to even more specific designs.
Old Bonhomme Elementary
Spoede Elementary
Ladue Middle School