Our team led the conversion of an existing elementary facility into the new Olympia Brown K-8 School for the Racine Unified School District. Zimmerman had also designed the original Olympia Brown Elementary School for RUSD a decade earlier.
The project includes upgrades that support the expanded student body and improve daily operations. These include a separate entry and dedicated bus drop-off area for middle school students. The middle school expansion also features a new gymnasium, an updated cafeteria, an expanded kitchen, and additional classrooms. Today, the fully operational Olympia Brown K-8 School campus successfully meets the district’s goal for an efficient, modern learning environment.
Both the existing school and middle school addition utilize a “house concept” design to optimize the student experience. This layout provides clusters of classrooms which facilitate multiple learning environments within the larger building. The architectural plan organizes these distinct clusters around a central core of shared resources. The central core houses the library, art rooms, music spaces, health facilities, and administrative offices. A main central spine runs through both the common areas and classroom wings to provide unobstructed sightlines for educators and administrators.
The design carefully organizes classrooms into distinct wings to support the diverse student population. Each wing features a unique color and pattern that corresponds directly to a specific grade level. This thoughtful arrangement provides necessary physical separation for different age groups across the Olympia Brown K-8 School. The intuitive color-coded system also fosters a strong sense of organization and independence. It allows students to easily and confidently navigate to their designated learning areas each day.
