Designing great spaces for K-12 education is a balancing act. You’re tasked with creating spaces that support students, staff, parents, and the wider community, all while keeping the project within the limits of your finances.
Working on the K-12 design projects we have in our portfolio, we’ve found several ways to gather community feedback and focus your spending on what matters. With these techniques, you’ll be able to approach any K-12 design project with confidence that your money is being spent wisely during your renovation, expansion, or new campus.
Determine the Priorities for Your Budget
As you begin your project, your architect will help you create a set of goals that you want to prioritize during the process. These can be categories like “Security and Safety,” “Inclusive Learning Environments,” or “Seamless Navigation.” Involve the community by holding public meetings or surveys to gather information about what your students, teachers, and parents desire in their learning space. Use this information to learn which principles are foundational to the project. These will be your “must-haves.” If you end up hitting the limits of your budget, you can use these guiding principles to determine what you should fight to keep and where you can reallocate.
The cost of quality design and material selection for frequently used features pales in comparison to the money and time it takes to replace them. Trying to reduce upfront costs on these essential pieces while compromising quality can easily cost you more money in the long run as they wear down with use. This means you might prioritize flooring in hallways and entrances with high foot traffic, or give more thought to the quality of windows in common areas that benefit from natural lighting.
Understand Required Costs of K-12 Design Projects
It’s also helpful to know about the less obvious costs of a remodel or addition for your school project. For example, the cost of designing and installing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services is often the largest expenditure for school projects, with 30-40% of the budget allocated to these services. These services are required for the function of the building and comfort of the occupants, and include HVAC systems, electrical wiring, and plumbing systems.
Although the cost of design and installation of these systems will show up on your final construction bill, the day-to-day operation and maintenance costs of any new systems will not. Whether it’s electricity, climate control, or maintenance and repair, if you remodel or create a new space, there will be changes to the long-term cost of your building. Your architect can help estimate these long-term costs and explore options that are most efficient for your needs, which will help you plan for the adequate budget and staff to keep these systems running.
Even though a functional building requires these systems, that doesn’t mean you can’t consider smart design that fits the needs of your occupants. For example, planning mechanical systems in ways that are convenient to repair and service without disrupting the classroom is just one of many simple and effective ways to get the most out of what is likely your biggest investment.
Another way to reduce costs is to reduce brand-new buildings in your project plan. When more space is desired for a K-12 building, the first instinct might be to build an extension with new rooms. Rather than expanding, you can explore options with your architect that reorganize and repurpose your existing space instead. With purposeful remodeling of existing buildings, usable space can grow to fit your needs without building all-new infrastructure, which can save money on design and installation costs.
Explore Non-Traditional K-12 Designs
Some traditional practices in school design have become less necessary as advancements in teaching and tech have become more common. For example, loaning personal computers to students may reduce the usage of physical textbooks, which could reduce the need for personal lockers. Exploring non-traditional designs that meet your school’s specific needs will help you stretch your budget even further.
Some school designs are trending toward including more common areas to bring classmates together and provide more options for studying. These schools might want to set aside a higher portion of their budget for furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) so they can ensure these areas are comfortable and productive for the students and faculty who use them.
And if you can plan for growth, do it! While Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) walls are recommended frequently due to their durability, their rigidity can limit options to reconfigure or change a space in the future. Because of this, a school planning for growth may opt for framed metal stud walls. Although they aren’t as durable as CMU walls, they allow for easier rearrangement and flexibility in future designs, making them a great option for a facility that may be remodeled to accommodate future space demands. A building that is easily reorganized can result in significant savings when you design and plan ahead for it.
Create a Welcoming Design
While you are prioritizing costs, don’t forget to account for the sensory experience you’re providing for students, staff, and other visitors every day. Including art pieces or other aesthetic designs helps your school feel inviting and comfortable. This could include murals that signify your school’s guiding motivation, display cases showing off significant accomplishments by students, or a model chronicling your town’s history.
Lincoln Elementary in Pella, Iowa has a mural of the school’s namesake, President Abraham Lincoln. The mural sits alongside a glass display with hundreds of real pennies emblazoned with President Lincoln’s visage. These pieces take a functional space and infuse it with a memorable design.
Putting Smart Budgeting Into Practice
A well-designed school is more than the walls and windows. If you want to build a space that fosters growth and community, start your project by identifying the unique needs of your community and use these priorities to shape your school design budget. While some costs are unavoidable, aligning your decisions with the priorities of the public will bring your project the best value for your budget. The result will be a building that holds the heart of the community, inspires students, and adapts to fit the needs of the future.
If you’re looking for inspiration for your next K-12 project, check out our portfolio of educational facility projects. And you’re considering updating your existing educational building, you can also explore the opportunities and challenges of adaptive reuse.