Dogpatch Elementary shifts its mass across the site to adjust for its urban-environmental context while maintaining a consistently small footprint. Prefabricated CLT components resolve the shifting geometries while decreasing the carbon footprint of the project. The small footprint allows for a generous outdoor space that acts as a buffer to the surrounding city.

The building makes room for twelve classrooms, a library, science lab, art studio, teaching kitchen, performing arts space, and open flexible spaces with a rooftop playground. Orienting the staircases along the longitudinal axis of the project creates a continuous circulation path that organizes the programs around the building’s exterior. The extending cantilevers create rooms with enough similarity to organize while maintaining unique proportions and views.