1. Roosevelt and Jackson Elementary Schools
2010 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture
Roosevelt and Jackson Elementary Schools
Medford, Oregon
Elementary
Project of Distinction
Opsis Architecture

2. Roosevelt and Jackson Elementary Schools

3. Roosevelt and Jackson Elementary Schools
Roosevelt Elementary
Jackson Elementary

4. Community Centers
Community Environment: The community members were active advocates for retaining the original schools’ inviting atmosphere. The schools’ massing and roof forms were broken down into smaller elements, reflecting the surrounding residential architecture. Brick details, precast and metal trim and bay windows create an intimate texture and civic quality that recalls the original historic schools.

5. School Commons: Heart and Hearth of the School
IMAGE
Community Environment: The School Commons serves as the main entry way and a meeting place for students, parents and staff, bringing the whole school together into a single community. Movable display panels and flat screens create places for students to show their work. Tiered risers create informal seating or a stage for small school events.

6. Project Commons Spaces: Small Learning Communities
Learning Environment: The design for innovative learning focuses on small learning communities consisting of learning studios that are connected by Project Commons spaces. The Project Commons spaces function with high transparency, “owned” by teachers in the surrounding classrooms. Where possible, these Project Commons Spaces open to outdoor learning spaces.

7. The Learning Studio: The Classroom Redefined
Learning Environment: Each learning studio supports a wide range of learning modes. Bay windows create reading nooks and computer corners bring technology directly into the classroom. Each studio is open through transparent, but acoustically isolated walls to the shared project commons spaces. Windows and indirect natural light from the project commons bring in abundant and natural light.

8. Bringing the Classroom Outside
Physical Environment: The neighborhood setting of the school required thoughtful integration of outdoor environment. Early in the planning process, we identified nine specific intelligence types, including bodily kinesthetic and naturalist. The design incorporates the entire site within the learning environment, integrating indoor and outdoor spaces, instead of separating them.

9. Natural Connections
Physical Environment: Through extensive daylighting and transparency, the outdoor environment is often accessible and visually stimulating for students. Outdoor spaces with tables are used as classrooms, and the garden area and pond provide hands-on learning opportunities.

10. Collaborative Programming
Planning Process: We developed a highly collaborative programming process with all stakeholder groups that pushed the community to “think outside the box” to the fundamentals of teaching and learning, unencumbered by the preconceptions of what a school should look like. The resulting program was used as a benchmark to test a series of alternatives for partial or full demolition of the existing structures.

11. Working from the Inside Out
Planning Process: The least cost/highest program accommodation concept renovated the 1940s classroom wing while demolishing and rebuilding the remainder of the facilities. This “student-centered” approach fully engaged the stakeholders to think beyond the old schools and focus on the fundamentals of students’ and community needs.

12. Floor plan – Level 1
Jackson Elementary School

13. Floor plan – Level 2
Jackson Elementary School

14. Floor plan – Level 1
Roosevelt Elementary School

15. Floor plan – Level 2
Roosevelt Elementary School

16. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2010 Project Data
Submitting Firm :
Opsis Architecture
Project Role
Design Architect
Project Contact
Alec Holser
Title
Principal
Address
920 NW 17th Ave
City, State or Province, Country
Portland, OR 97209
Phone
Joint Partner Firm:
Abell Architectural Group
Project Role
Associate Architect
Project Contact
Gene Abell
Title
Principal
Address
2 East Main Street, Suite 300
City, State or Province, Country
Medford, OR 97501
Phone
Other Firm:
Fielding Nair International
Project Role
Educational Planner
Project Contact
Randall Fielding
Title
Chairman
Address
4937 Morgan Ave South
City, State or Province, Country
Minneapolis, MN 55419
Phone
Construction Firm:
Batzer Construction
Project Role
General Contractor
Project Contact
Brett Smith
Title
Project Manager
Address
PO Box 4460
City, State or Province, Country
Medford, OR 97501
Phone

17. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2010 Project Details
Project Name
 Jackson and Roosevelt Elementary Schools
City
Medford 
State
Oregon 
District Name
Medford School District 549C 
Supt/President
Dr. Phil Long 
Occupancy Date
January 6, 2010 
Grades Housed
K-5 
Capacity(Students)
Roosevelt = 400, Jackson = 400 
Site Size (acres)
 Roosevelt = 4.5 acres, Jackson = 5 acres
Gross Area (sq. ft.)
 Roosevelt = 51,000 sf, Jackson = 55,800 sf
Per Occupant(pupil)
Roosevelt = sf, Jackson = sf 
gross/net please indicate
 gross
Design and Build?
 Yes
If yes, Total Cost:
 $12.5 million for each school
Includes:
Soft costs, including design fee, FF&E, site development 
If no,
Site Development:
Building Construction:
Fixed Equipment:
Other:
Total:
 $25 million

18. Supporting/Supplemental files/Images