St. Rose of Lima Catholic School

The white-brick addition to the school’s existing yellow patched-brick building creates a vivid backdrop for St. Rose of Lima student activities during recess. 

To accentuate the façade, we used a chamfered frame to recess the windows and create openings that draw the eye inward. By contrast to the punched windows of the original structure, the recessed glazing introduces texture and play across the new façade. 

The existing school building relied on a single utility source, which was insufficient to meet the water demands of an additional building. Because a full services upgrade would have been cost prohibitive, we worked closely with civil and mechanical engineers and code consultants to design an autonomous addition that is serviced by its own water source and separated from the main school by firewalls. We were also required to position the addition in front of an existing exit, which necessitated that we troubleshoot solutions to various challenges, including the construction of a structurally independent access to the exit from the new building, strategic sprinklering, and the provision of automatic fire shutters above the addition to adequately separate the two buildings.