New Charter School

Evergreen Charter School was developed to provide a high-performance educational environment for 750 students while serving as a year-round community resource. Built on a formerly vacant site, the new facility features classrooms, science and maker spaces, music rooms, administrative offices and student support areas designed to foster collaboration, creativity and wellness. Shared amenities include a full-size gymnasium, two cafeterias, rooftop gardens, a rooftop soccer field and flexible community spaces that support educational programming, neighborhood events and after-hours activities. Conceived as a “building that teaches,” the facility integrates exposed mass timber construction, renewable energy systems and educational elements that promote environmental stewardship and sustainability awareness.

Construction required extensive coordination of a hybrid structural system incorporating cross-laminated timber (CLT), glulam, structural steel and concrete. Because more than 500 CLT panels were prefabricated overseas with factory-cut penetrations, every connection, penetration and building system interface had to be fully coordinated prior to fabrication. An intensive VDC/BIM process integrated structural, architectural and M/E/P systems into a single model, minimizing field conflicts and accelerating installation. The team also implemented comprehensive moisture-management and quality-control protocols to protect exposed timber finishes throughout construction, including factory-applied waterproofing, strategic sequencing and carefully coordinated enclosure activities. Through prefabrication, collaborative planning and self-performed CLT installation, the steel and timber superstructure was erected in just eight weeks.