Philadelphia’s Anna B. Pratt Elementary School Renovation
Energizing colors and patterns encourage student creativity and bring vibrancy to the renovated elementary school
Our Client’s Challenge
In late 2019, the School District of Philadelphia required a temporary location for students in the North Broad area whose schools were undergoing reconstruction. The district chose Anna B. Pratt Elementary School to serve as a swing space school throughout the reconstruction.
Pratt Elementary had been vacant and required immediate repairs. The district contracted Gannett Fleming’s architects and engineers through the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) process to determine how to prepare the building for occupancy on a fast-track schedule for the fall of 2020.
Our Solution
Initial repairs at the school left the concrete floors exposed, presenting the opportunity to create a new motif. Throughout the school’s classrooms, corridors, auditorium, and cafeteria, Gannett Fleming’s architects applied a vibrantly patterned design language to energize the spaces and inspire students’ creativity. The colors are bright yet durable and easy to maintain. Walls and ceilings also bear fresh paint to help reflect light and restore the learning environment throughout the school.
The first floor of the school needed restrooms to accommodate a kindergarten space. Gannett Fleming’s architects redesigned the existing single-occupant restrooms into two-occupant restrooms with modernized fixtures.
The expanded cafeteria better accommodates the students’ lunchtime schedule. A new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant ramp at the main entrance provides access to students and visitors.
Classroom door signage, tack boards, and marker boards provide spaces to communicate information. Classroom coat hooks and storage cubbies encourage neatness. Masonry repairs included securing and repairing the chimney below the roofline and rebuilding the chimney above the roofline.
Gannett Fleming also provided engineering design for mechanical improvements throughout the school. The improvements included:
- Providing 40 new steam unit ventilators and controls.
- Installing new insulation on steam, steam condensate, domestic hot water, domestic cold water, and rainwater conductor piping throughout the school building.
- Providing a new double-wall breeching system from the existing boilers to the chimney.
- Renovating plumbing systems for restroom construction.
Key Features
- Vibrant new flooring in unique, colorful patterns.
- ADA-approved ramp at the main entrance.
- Renovated restrooms.
- New classroom heating equipment.
Awards & Recognition
- Awards. Web part is hidden
Outcomes
- Bright learning spaces promote excellence in learning for approximately 370 students.
- Fast-track design enabled construction to occur over the summer and early fall with as little disruption to faculty and students as possible.
- Improvements to school mechanical systems provide a safe, efficient learning environment.
CLIENT
School District of Philadelphia
LOCATION
Philadelphia, Pa.
ROLE
Architecture and Engineering Design
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