HENDERSON-HOPKINS SCHOOL
EAST BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
The new Elmer A. Henderson: A Johns Hopkins Partnership School and The Harry And Jeanette Weinberg Early Childhood Center, together called Henderson Hopkins, is the first new Baltimore public school built in 30 years. A cornerstone for the largest redevelopment project in Baltimore, it is envisioned as a catalyst in the revitalization of East Baltimore. The seven-acre campus will house 540 K-8 students and 175 pre-school children. The design follows four key principles: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The program, like the architecture, is informed by the needs and desires of East Baltimore’s residents. INTEGRATED URBAN PLANNING Site planning and building massing integrate the school to the historic East Baltimore urban fabric. ARCHITECTURE OF ITS PLACE The school employs an architectural language of cultural heritage to become a prominent social civic space. PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION A ‘container’ for learning and teaching, the school is designed to adapt to various pedagogies over time.
REBUILT FABRIC
2009
2013
AN URBAN CATALYST
JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL
Good public schools are critical institutions in supporting and developing successful communities. A school is not a civic monument, but a living, engaging institution. Henderson-Hopkins, built as part of broader efforts to revitalize greater Middle East Baltimore, was conceived as a community hub, housing innovative early childcare facilities, a school and shared resources for residents and businesses. Borne out of a need to support the underserved existing community and to act as a magnet for new development, the program, like the architecture, is informed by the needs and desires of East Baltimore’s residents.
ST. WENCESLAUS CHURCH
SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY PARK AT JOHNS HOPKINS
HENDERSON HOPKINS SCHOOL
AMTRAK
N
INTEGRATED URBAN PLANNING
N
Eight Outdoor Learning Terraces, Duncan Commons and Collington Commons, playground and ball fields form the open space strategy.
Street Wall Alley Wall Glass Wall
Street Wall
Block Analysis: Facades vary by their orientation on the block; open spaces are accessible and distributed interior to the block.
N
Alley Wallprecast concrete on the street wall and natural concrete on the alley walls Stained Glass Wallwith the translucent polycarbonate Commons and main hallway. contrast
ARCHITECTURE OF ITS PLACE The school’s main artery, Collington Commons, becomes an extension of the existing urban street.
N. Collington Ave, 2009
RECOVER THE ALLEY Similarly to the street, Duncan continues on the campus as an alley, organizing the campus in the local urban grid.
Duncan Alley Street 2009
MATERIALITY Local materials are reimagined in the color-stained, custom-grooved pattern of the precast composite concrete panels.
CO
RR
EAGER STREET
EARLY CHILDHOOD
ID
OR
RA
ILW
AY
LOWER SCHOOL
N
UPPER SCHOOL
100’
SCHOOL COMMUNITY
NORTH CHESTER STREET
NORTH PATTERSON PARK AVENUE
ECC: EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER HOUSE 1: KINDERGARTEN HOUSE 2: GRADES 1-2 HOUSE 3: GRADES 3-4 HOUSE 4: GRADES 5-6 HOUSE 5: GRADES 7-8 ART / MUSIC
ASHLAND AVENUE
ST. WENCESLAUS DUNCAN STREET
Ground Floor Plan (1:100 Scale)
N COLLINGTON AVENUE
MADEIRA STREET
SECOND FLOOR
PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION USES
YOUNGER
1
CLASSROOM TYPOLOGY
PRIVILEGE OF TRAVEL
OUTSIDE WORLD CONNECTION
1:1
MINIMUM
INTERNAL / PROTECTED
INSULAR
OUSE MORPHOLOGY
1:1
MINIMUM
MINIMUM
3
CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM
FLEX FLEXIBLE LEARNING FLEX
1:2
MODERATE
MINIMUM
TRANSITION
MODERATE
MODERATE
1:1.5
MAXIMUM
MAXIMUM
HOUSE COMMONS
OUTDOOR LEARNING
OPEN
4
5
TEACHER
CLASSROOM
2
OLDER
The school is organized into five Houses, whose configurations progressively change by age to serve development needs.
A typical House cluster offers varied and connected learning environments. House Commons permit large gatherings, eating, and relaxing close to instructional spaces. Individual serveries, rather than a central kitchen, save time by avoiding long lunch lines in a school-wide cafeteria. Flexible Learning spaces provide opportunities for small group learning and can be reconfigured multiple times a day as informed by individual learning needs. Learning Terraces offer close, dedicated, outdoor space for instruction and play.
Indoor and outdoor learning
A traditional classroom opens to views of the next House, a visual and physical link that entices children to stay in school as they aspire to their future.
The poylcarbonate-clad House Commons is the central space connecting classrooms to the exterior Learning Terrace. The layout of these Flexible Learning Spaces (left of the Commons and the Commons themselves) can be reconfigured throughout the day as needed.
Early Childhood Center Commons
The Commons is the hub for each House. While some children lunch, others are learning in the flex space behind; on the second floor, a group is getting ready to enter a classroom while teachers discuss the latest pedagogical changes on the bridge.
