Westview Elementary School

Location: Warren, Michigan
Client: Fitzgerald Public Schools
Area: 98,500 SF / 18 Acres
Completion Date: July 2007

Awards:

  • 2008 Impact on Learning Award Winner

    • Presented by School Planning & Management Magazine and The Council of Educational Facility Planners International (Now the Association for Learning Environments). 

  • CAM Magazine – 2008 Special Issue

    • Chosen as one of the twelve most impactful projects of the year – Construction Association of Michigan

  • Breaking the Mold of School Instruction and Organization;

    • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Edited by Andrea Hoingsfeld and Audrey Cohan
      Featured in Chapter 27 – “Liberating Learning and Its Environment” written by Michael Malone

  • 2010 Exhibition of School Architecture

    • National School Board Association 70th Annual Conference; April 2010

  • Michigan Association of School Boards 

    • 2008 VIP Focus Article “Educational Partnership Proven Successful”

  • Metal Magazine

    • Published September 2008

  • Learning By Design Magazine

    • Published 2006

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Impact on Learning Award Winner

Westview was designed to support exploration, discovery and team-based learning while remaining flexible to the educational demands of the future. Classrooms for pre-K through fifth grade are organized into learning communities, each having their own identity and central resource area. These individualized areas create a sense of place for each student while providing flexibility for both large and small group instruction as well as distance learning activities.  

The outdoor classroom provides an environment for hands-on life sciences learning which is centrally-located and strategically-placed near the main entrance lobby.  All visitors are exposed to this dynamic learning arena which offers a pond, teaching platforms, built-in seating and butterfly and hummingbird gardens.    

A closed-loop geothermal ground source heat pump system provides an extremely efficient approach to heating, ventilating and cooling the building. This approach has resulted in substantial energy savings.  

Westview utilizes the latest technology, natural lighting, adaptable spaces, simple building organization, color, texture, unique learning places and a dynamic aesthetic to support a fun, inviting and welcoming learning environment for the students, teachers and community.