Sandy Hook Elementary—where one of the largest mass shootings in the country occurred in 2012, killing 26 students—will open its campus this fall to a completely new open-space design.
The Newtown, CT-based school—redesigned by Svigals + Partners Architects—is deeply forested and surrounded by nature. Simultaneously, the design features key defensive measures should an emergency ever arise, though these elements are subtly hidden, Curbed reports.
The 86k SF structure sits far back, almost hidden beneath the trees like a walled-in fortress. There are a series of checkpoints surrounding the school, including the main entryway and surveillance gate that provides external security. “As architects, we aspire to opportunities like this, to be involved in the design of a building like the Sandy Hook School, a meaningful and symbolic building that truly serves a community on so many levels,” Svigals + Partners managing partner Jay Brotman says. [Curbed]
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