Final Design Boards

We combined some ideas and began working as two larger groups. After weeks of designing, redesigning and stressing the 12 midnight deadline for the Architecture For Humanity Classroom Challenge we each submitted the following proposals.

Group 1: Sunnyside Rain Garden

 Here's the project description submitted for competition:

The Sunnyside Rain Garden is an outdoor classroom that is designed to embrace the water cycle in everyday life.

The design inspiration came from the nature of the school’s program, which is a K-8 environmental magnet school. Their passion for garden learning and outdoor activities has, unfortunately, not been matched by their current school facilities. With countless interviews and design charrettes with parents, faculty, and the kids, we believe we have created a perfect classroom that exceeds the Sunnyside Environmental School’s expectations by utilizing a simply built structure composed of modular units arranged atop a water-harvesting bio-swale.
With recycling being a key component in the school’s curriculum, as well as a necessity in our everyday world, we have come up with a building plan that implements scrap wood from either construction sites or dilapidated homes as the main structural component that would otherwise be considered waste. The EPA cites that nearly six million tons of wood waste was generated in 2003. Wood comprises the largest percentage of the residential construction and demolition materials (C&D) waste stream – approximately 40 to 50 percent of residential new construction. By deconstructing a home piece by piece, we would be able to salvage many of the home’s 2x4’s as well as other structural members. The Sunnyside Rain Garden relies on these common building materials to produce an architecture that inspires the intermingling of nature vs. consumer product. The wall panels may be constructed off-site by individual donors and delivered for installation. Thus fabrication becomes a collective endeavor linking community in the improvement of school grounds.

In addition to the structure, the site is a key component to the student’s education of the bio-swale provides an experiential lesson in rainwater harvesting, infiltration, and the creation of a sustainable habitat of plant wildlife species. This key piece in the classroom has the potential to redirect 2,259,684 gallons of water per year from 88,200 sq of impervious surface from draining into sewage systems. The disconnection of downspouts and redirection of storm water into the infiltration swale and rain garden will reduce swage cost for the school and help alleviate environmental stress to waterways during the rainy seasons. The redirection and cleansing of rainwater can serve as an invaluable lesson that visually demonstrates the importance of water ecology as the hub to all living systems. The bio-swale and rain garden help transform blacktop and concrete into a more tactile, educational and visually stimulating natural environment

Group 2:  Roots for Learning

Here's the project description submitted for competition:

The objective of our classroom is to create a dialogue that speaks to the philosophy of our partner school, Sunnyside Environmental School. We agree with the school in that the education of children should cultivate children’s understanding of the world around them. The ideal classroom should foster an awareness of natural eco-systems, as well as life and food cycles. Children should be taught to be stewards of the Earth and be given the tools to live satisfying lives as thoughtful, active members of the larger community. A classroom designed to adapt and anticipate environmental relationships helps to provide a more profound understanding of the world for its students.


The Sunnyside Environmental School is a K-8 public school in Portland, Oregon. The school curriculum values service learning, academic excellence, and sustainability through personal responsibility. The school building was built in the early 1900’s and is lacking natural light and adequate ventilation. It currently has a small community garden and an uncovered deck referred to as an outdoor classroom. The playground is mostly asphalt and opens up into a public park. This harsh edge between playground (asphalt) and the public park (grass) is the focus area of our design.

Our concentration is focused on addressing this edge between the public and the private, coupled with the static, interior classroom and kinetic, outdoor living classroom. Our structure is an outdoor, multifunctional space that serves the educational needs of the school while also meeting the requests of those in the community who use the park.

The driving force behind our classroom’s program is the ecology of the Pacific Northwest. Planting a garden and growing food is empowering. For this reason, we are taking advantage of the abundant space and full sunshine available on the site. The area surrounding the structure will be filled with vegetable and berry gardens. The planting and tending of these gardens will be the responsibility of the students.

Addressing the next step in the food cycle, the harvesting of the crops, the classroom features a kitchen space for cleaning, canning, or drying food. The sink is large enough for a few students to work together. The floor surrounding the counter is multi-leveled providing different heights for different size people. Space to add a solar oven provides another option for preparing food.

Consuming the season’s harvest is the next progression in the learning process. Considering the Oregon rain, the covered portion of the structure provides a nice place to sit and eat. On sunny days tables can be placed outside near the garden. Breaking bread together as a community creates a sense of belonging as well as a sense of ownership and pride in what has been accomplished. Contributions from all participants make the meal more meaningful. Mixing the lettuce grown by the 2nd graders with the tomatoes from the 4th graders and the peas from the 8th graders not only makes the meal taste better but provides for a community building exercise.

The last, and possibly the most enjoyable portion of the cycle is the celebration. The students share their success with the community and their peers. There is space for music, dancing, games and food. The stage opens out to the park and is the perfect place for performing, gathering, or hosting a farmers’ market.

In addition to the food cycle, the native animal species are highlighted within the structure. The Pacific bird migration pattern is directly over Portland, Oregon. We have incorporated bird boxes into the roof structure so the students can get a closer look at the native habitat. In addition to the bird boxes, we have added a butterfly garden which will attract the local species of butterflies.

The last cycle we plan to highlight is the water cycle. Portland averages 42 inches of rain per year and currently the school drains all their rain water into the local storm drain that leads directly to the sewer system. Our plan is to incorporate a butterfly roof with a water catchment gutter that runs the entire length of the structure. The water is collected into a cistern. This water will be used to water the surrounding gardens, and overflow will be gathered into a bio-swale. The swale will allow water to naturally settle into the ground while supporting a host of native plants and grasses.

The structure has a raised crow’s nest on the south-east corner of the building. The platform is at the level of the gutter. Not only can the students see the water running into the gutter but they can reach out and touch it. The crow’s nest also adds a raised private space that kids can climb into and get a bird’s eye view of the playground.

When designing our classroom, we considered material choices that coincide with the program set forth by the school. Making the least impact on the earth and using materials that are readily available became our focus. Most of the structure is made from wood. Abundant in the Pacific Northwest, wood products make construction easy enough for parents and community to build with. Also, wood is a renewable resource which falls in line with our eco-friendly design. For the roof, we intend to work with a local reclamation yard and use corrugated metal. On the ground, it was important for us not to put down any pavement, cement, or asphalt. Where a more solid surface was appropriate, we incorporated permeable pavers to allow water to seep into the ground.

The structure will also serve the community in the off-school hours as well as the summer. Parents and neighbors have addressed the desire for a space for a farmers’ market, summer concert series, and a community kitchen. All three of these events could easily be hosted in this welcoming space.