AN AGE FOR EXPLORATION

Boone County Schools favors incorporating “learning courtyards” into their designs, providing students with natural environments that support their educational growth and development. The courtyard is one area designed to enhance collaborative learning among students. Activities that explore weather, seasons, clouds, soil, gardening, plants, and water can all happen in this interactive learning environment.

SHOOTING FOR THE MOON

Robert Ehmet Hayes & Associates’ design solution focused on the solar system and the moon's phases. “When we started sketching the moon's phases, we knew we needed a material that would provide the aesthetic quality we were looking for but was also solid and durable,” said Architect Joe Hayes. The City Line Series Pavers have an excellent formation and were a perfect material choice for the courtyard due to their high-quality, hard-wearing, slip-resistant surface that requires little to no maintenance. “And the variety of colors; color played a significant role in the design” – these were the ideal range of gray and black through-the-body colors that won’t fade.

Hayes selected brick as a primary material for the build, choosing the distinguishable Clay Coated brick in Titanium Velour due to the particular color, texture, and scale. Bricks are incredibly durable and easy to maintain, making them the ideal choice for a school. The building material added a significant benefit to the project, both practically – “larger brick, such as a utility, gives a large project like Steeplechase Elementary a more scaled look than a modular brick,” and aesthetically – “I just had it in my mind that I wanted a unique gray-colored brick, the Belden Titanium Velour utility brick had an excellent contemporary look.”