On the site where Paradise Elementary School once stood before the 2018 Camp Fire, Honeyrun Elementary, a new elementary school for the future of education will emerge.
Honeyrun Elementary’s campus is decentralized composition of Learning Suites containing four class pods, that will each share an open porch and wooded court for exploratory and collaborative projects and play. The open courts between each Learning Suite form an outdoor corridor emphasizing progression through the campus, uncovering smaller pockets of space serving study, social engagement and imaginative recreation. A midway anchor of the central corridor is the student resource center, an open plan library for digital and physical interaction with material that will bring the world to each child’s fingertips. Spaces for collaboration and solitude are provided and a space for an easily accessible faculty attendant is provided. The Nature Centers between the Learning Suites afford students immediate contact with the local ecology, allowing the opportunity to bring nature into class, or bring the class into nature. Learning suites are designed with locally sourced materials and solar geometry first and foremost. Natural daylight spills from above into the shared student porches and from the sides in each Class Pod. A cross laminated timber frame is supportive to lofted ceilings with ample space for thought, noise diffusion and continuous exchanges of fresh air. Spaces are transparent but divided by foldable glazed walls for acoustic privacy. Each Pod houses up to 26 students totaling 104 students per Learning Suite across two grade levels. A count of six Learning Suites on campus allows for the projected growth of the area as the community expands.
