West Willow Elementary School

OPN Architects

Recognitions: K-12 Projects 2022

Project Description

West Willow Elementary is the first new school built by the Cedar Rapids Community School District in more than two decades. Constructed on the site of the existing school and opened in August 2021, West Willow represents the implementation of the first phase of the district’s master plan to reduce the overall inventory of elementary attendance centers. Constructed before the old building was demolished and the site developed, West Willow is designed to accommodate the populations of three existing elementary schools, all of which were decommissioned after the new building opened. The design, which is unique to the building’s site and neighborhood, was inspired by benchmarking trips and broad stakeholder input. The result is a school that promotes collaborative learning in a light-filled teaching environment. A neighborhood for each grade-level contains four standard classrooms and a smaller classroom arranged around a collaboration space with four individual bathrooms and cubbies or lockers depending on grade level. Art, music and special education classrooms with support spaces are clustered in the academic wing, while activity functions such as the library, gym and cafeteria form a perpendicular wing. The main office, with a clinic, counselor and teacher workspace and lounge, bridges the two wings and is accessible through a secure vestibule.