Chestnutwold Elementary School

School District of Haverford Township

New K-5 Elementary

This project involved construction of a new replacement 3-story elementary school to house 600 students in grades K-5. Located on an existing site, the building required demolition of an existing school dating from the early 1900's. Numerous architectural elements from the existing building have been retained and will be reinstalled in the new structure.

As the existing site is a small urban parcel, the project necessitated positioning of the building within the required setbacks of local zoning codes. Although 38 zoning code variances were required in building the school, it permitted the use of existing township streets for bus loading and parent pickup and drop-off, thereby allowing the creation of new green open-space playfield for school and community use.

To mitigate the impact of a large building located close to existing homes in this established residential neighborhood, a number of massing elements were created to step the building back while presenting other façade elements drawn from the adjacent home such as porches, siding, low stone walls and window details.

This new structure, situated on a very tight neighborhood site, is a primary example of how community consensus building and persistence worked for the best possible solution.