Revitalization of a neighborhood school

One of the best ways to practice sustainable architecture is to reuse and renovate existing buildings. When the Eagle's Nest Academy Charter School (ENA) was looking for a facility, H2A assisted ENA in evaluating several existing buildings within their targeted area. The site selected was an existing school building from the former stock of Flint Community Schools. The building was from an era of school design where the facilities also served as neighbor community centers, built right in the middle of a residential district. The building has a large gym, an auditorium, and nearly 7 acres of usable site, including a baseball diamond. Not bad for a K-4 elementary school! Through careful consideration of building codes, a majority of the space was able to be reused. Several life safety issues were addressed and a new boiler and unit ventilator system were installed to bring the school into current code compliance. Now, complete, the Eagle's Nest Academy is well on it's way to start producing some new and creative minds to guide the next generation. ENA was also very successful in re-establishing a neighborhood community center which will act as the catalyst for rejuvenating the area.