Socastee Elementary and St. James Intermediate Schools honored with Architectural and Interior Design awards
November 12, 2018
Learning By Design, the nation’s premier source for education design innovation and excellence, has announced that two Horry County schools were recognized with Architectural and Interior Design awards to be presented in its Fall 2018 issue. St. James Intermediate earned the Grand Prize award and Socastee Elementary were both recognized with the Outstanding Project award.
These newly designed buildings provide teachers and students an advantage as it allows them to work and learn in a visually and technologically progressive environment. Firstfloor’s energy-positive facilities aim to provide creative solutions while staying cost-effective; Students and teachers alike benefit significantly from these modernized and sustainable buildings.
“It is humbling that these schools continue to receive such astounding recognition from so many reputable sources,” Robbie Ferris, CEO of Firstfloor Energy Positive stated. “The school board took a risk deciding to do something different when opting for an energy positive design-build concept, and now these buildings are helping put Horry County Schools in the limelight on a national stage.”
Since 1991, Learning By Design has showcased projects that support learning, collaboration, community, and the connection between the human spirit and design to enrich and elevate the quality of education. This year’s seventy-one blind-scored projects represent every phase of education from early childhood and beyond. A panel of six esteemed education-based professionals reviewed, scored, and debated projects in detail, resulting in awards for Grand Prize, Citation of Excellence, Honorable Mention, and Outstanding Project.
The 2018 Jury commented on St. James Intermediate’s Grand Prize Award stating that, “This is a very exciting project. The way that the plan was broken up is very cutting edge. Locating the gym and cafeteria in the center of the school is unlike any school I’ve seen. Daylight floods the cafeteria. It feels more like a student union than cafeteria. The gym that has borrowed lights in the corridors upstairs and a ‘see through’ option into the cafeteria is also very cool. The double height learning commons could be mistaken for a college campus. Great design.”
Features include a patio for outdoor learning, iBar, project pod, brainstorm room, flex class, lecture hall, common areas and much more. By providing children with open learning environments, it promotes a better sense of community, creative nature, more flexibility, various landscapes for learning, sustainability, as well as helping teachers cater to all students and their different learning needs.
SfL+a has completed several projects under its design-build-finance-maintain approach. To learn more about these project, Ferris and his philosophy visit SfLa.biz or Firstfloor.biz – or on Facebook and LinkedIn.
ABOUT FIRSTFLOOR ENERGY POSITIVE
Firstfloor Energy Positive is a company specifically designed to provide turnkey development solutions to educational institutions. Firstfloor Energy Positive’s primary objective is focusing on the individual needs of clients. Providing creative, cost-effective development solutions to our client’s needs is Firstfloor Energy Positive’s philosophy. Applying over six decades of experience in project design, site acquisition, financing, construction, construction management, and property management makes this all possible.
ABOUT SFL+A ARCHITECTS
SfL+a Architects a leading architectural firm, established in 1982, focused on delivering high-performance facilities that will serve communities and environment for decades into the future. SfL+a Architects strives to accomplish all this while maintaining its core values – people, passion, commitment, integrity and innovation. The company’s business model demands that SfL+a Architects design buildings to be at a minimum LEED Silver and nothing less. Specializing in delivering extremely energy efficient buildings, including energy positive ones, it creates engaging environments that positively impact people, communities and the environment. Teaming up with its sister-company, Firstfloor, SfL+a Architects offers alternative delivery methods including financing solutions that reduce total cost of ownership for clients.
