1
PROGRAM ISOMETRIC SOCIAL STRUCTURE / MINI MURAL STRUCTURE / SEQUENCE ISOMETRIC JIANHUACHEN LA 2121L | PROJECT ONE Variations of Type | Learning from Precedent ELEMENTS of TYPE SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL 2007 WASHINGTON D.C. ANDFROPOGON ASSOCIATES NARRATIVE Sidwell Friend School is located in Washington D.C., and it was founded in 1883, it is a Quaker co-educational institution that has proven its commitment to environmental responsibility throughout its existence. In 2007, the school renovated and expanded its middle school to increase classroom space for a growing enrollment. Sidwell Friend rated K-12 school teaches sustainability by example. Among the Sidwell Friends’ many innovative components is a of its kind in the District of Columbia that receives and biologically cleans the school’s wastewater and returns it to the building’s ecosystem to serve as grey water for the toilets and cooling systems. The terraced constructed wetlands are the centerpiece of the courtyard, and are iris, bullrush, cattail, horsetail, soft rush and sensitive fern. Downslope from the wetlands are the rain garden and biology pond, which includes native water plants such as water lillies, pickerel rushes and water shields. Access steps and terrace walls around the wetlands and pond transform the space into an outdoor classroom and laboratory for the 8th grade science class. There are a lot of native planting on campus, including more than 80 species native to the Chesapeake Bay region, are used in place of lawn, eliminating the need for irrigation and use of pesticides. Plants and on the middle school grounds include turtlehead and milkweed. Endangered species that may be attracted to the new habitat include the Snowy Owl and the landscape include a range of reclaimed materials from the region. All of the stone used in the wetland walls and stairs is reclaimed, with sources including an abandoned quarry and a dismantled railway bridge. The building’s cladding is made from 100-year-old wine barrels, pilings salvaged from Baltimore Harbor.
