Ryan Middle School
With a newly renovated gymnasium on campus, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District was in need of a middle school that would connect both functionally and aesthetically, as well as align educational goals and facility needs.
Inspired by the beauty of nature within and around the Fairbanks area, Ryan Middle School brings elements of its extraordinary context into the design of the building through form, color, and light. Many spaces offer settings for students to work collaboratively while being supervised by multiple teachers. Abundant collaboration space supports project-based learning, while smaller spaces allow for independent study, building social skills and encouraging innovation.
The students and teachers support one another in this open environment, which fosters a sense of curiosity and compels them to explore new ideas and activities, creating a real sense of community.
The exterior took its cues from the birch forests through use of black-edged white paneling, accented with greens and yellows, the interior was conceived of as a series of objects in the local context.
They feature operable partitions between classes, allowing rooms to expand and offering transparency to the project resource area.
Associate Architect:
Bettisworth North Architects and Planners
