The new Thoroughgood Elementary School will enable students to learn, explore, discover, and play in an open and collaborative environment. The partnership between the architect’s team of designers and engineers, Virginia Beach City Public Schools administration and school board, faculty and staff, students, parents, and community members has promoted a 21st century school design supportive of non-traditional and diverse learning methods for students Pre-K through 5th grade.

This project replaces a sixty-two year old aging and over-crowded elementary school facility. The overall design is custom and tailored to reflect future forward educational instruction, contribute to the VBCPS system’s wide sustainability goals as a net zero ready facility. The new 91,913 SF school will initially house 725 students. The design features exposed elements of construction and energy efficiency as teaching tools to facilitate learning through demonstration; it redefines the ideas of traditional educational spaces to promote collaboration and learning everywhere and finally the design reveals the positive effects of identifying, respecting and integrating the site’s existing attributes and characteristics.

The new Thoroughgood Elementary School is deeply rooted in its community and is supportive of its core values and culture. These values are revealed in each design element beginning with how one approaches the site and experiences the entry, moves through the special shaped spaces in each area of the building, enjoys the natural light and air everywhere, and enjoys the natural textures and cheery colors. It is a bright, fresh and stimulating environment inside and out for learning and sparking young minds!

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