Fernbank Elementary School: School in a Ditch
Fernbank: School in a Ditch
• Looking down on the school • A pedestrian walking on Heaton Park will look down onto the school roof
• 42 days of dump trucks to dump 25,000 cubic yards of fill dirt • every 6 minutes 8 hours of days
• 36 1/3 square feet of play area per child • District requires 2 acres of play area, but only 1 acre for Fernbank • May eventually have 1,200 students
• Unsafe in many areas • Retaining walls up to 23 feet • 1/4 acre detenMon pond
• No green planning • Acres of tree removal • Open detenMon pond aka mosquito breeding area
Looking down on the school
1-‐story roof level with
Heaton park
3-‐story
2-‐story
20 foot drop (bank)
• From Heaton Park, I see: • White roofing • HVAC units • Part of 2-‐story • End and far side of 3-‐story
“Cutting in” Fernbank to create a level site (conceptual)
Fernbank Elementary
Add fill dirt: 3,400 truck loads
Remove land
ExisMng hill
Retaining walls (from 8 to 23 feet)
Windows look onto retaining walls
30 feet drop from Heaton Park Drive to the current Play Area
25,000 Cubic yards of Gill dirt to level
• 42.5 days of con.nuous dump trucks • 3,400 truck loads • Every 6 minutes • 10 per hour • 8 hours per day
• Fill dirt = delay • Fill dirt costs $ • Rain delays usage
• Fill is about • 2.5 acres • 8 feet high • Maximum is 19 feet
Retaining walls around three sides
• Some windows view retaining walls 8 to 23 feet
8 feet 2 to 5 feet
14 foot drop
20 foot drop
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Retaining wall scale
• Windows look at 15 foot retaining wall • North West, facing Dyson
• Land drops 19 feet near cafeteria • South East, facing railroad track
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36 square feet of play area per child
• Design reduces the play area by half • Only 1 acre of play for Fernbank • 1 acre = 0.75 football fields • District requires 2 acres of play area • May eventually have 1,200 students
• 43,560 / 1,200 = 36.3 • Same size as prison cell
• 43,560 / 900 = 48.4 • ReducMon from exisMng by • Buildings moved out to exisMng gazebo • DetenMon pond (1/4 acre, fenced)
Redesign to improving the site layout…
• Goals • Use current building design (with new orientaMon) • Increase play space • Increase green space • Increase safety • Reduce fill dirt • Costly, delay inducing, unsafe drops, ugly retaining wall views
• Redesign result • SaMsfies all goals • Also, increases parking capacity for Fernbank Science Center
1-‐story
3-‐story
2-‐story
Redesign site layout
• Configure builds to minimize need for cuts and fill-‐dirt • 3-‐story building in low spot • 1-‐story building in high spot • Buildings moved closer to road
• Bus turnaround extends exisMng roadbed
• Share parking with Science Center • Licle overlap in Mmes of use • Traffic calming on Heaton Park
• Increased play space & forest
Less Gill dirt means less cost, delays, drop-‐off dangers • 61% reducMon in fill dirt • 1,337 rather than 3,400 dump truck loads
More green space & play space
• More play space • 1 more acre • Increased by • Rework of detenMon pond
• Building reconfiguraMon • More forest • 3/4 acre more
Improve trafGic and parking
• Shared parking with Science Center • Night: Science center usage • Morning: Parent drop-‐off • 88 spaces @ center • 76 spaces @ school
• Traffic calming on Heaton Park • No head-‐in parking on Heaton Park
• Raised crosswalk (like those at Emory Pointe)
• Large side walks • Increased green space
Redesign Fernbank: School in the green
• Less .me, less money, more value • Street view of school becomes “normal” • View buildings façade not roomop
• Heaton Park becomes • Pedestrian friendly, with some green space • Becer parking for both Science Center and Fernbank
• ConstrucMon cheaper & simpler with less fill dirt • Increased green space and play space • Increased safety • Fewer drop-‐offs, stairs, retaining walls • Traffic calming