Entry number: B08006
Project Name: Roy Martin Middle School
Building Type: Educational
Completion Date: Unknown
Architect: Puglsey. Simpson. Coulter. Architects

Design Team:
Electrical Engineer: TJK Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Landscape Architect: Hill, Clark and Associates
General Contractor: Pace Contractors
Structural Engineer: Mendenhall Smith Structural Engineers
Civil Engineer: Nevada By Design, LLC
Interior Designer: Puglsey. Simpson. Coulter. Architects
Photographer: Puglsey. Simpson. Coulter. Architects
Kitchen Consultant: Landmark Design, Inc.

Narrative/Project Description:
Type of Project: Middle School
Type of Construction: Type II-B
Materials: Concrete Masonry, Zinc Panels
Completion Date: August 2008
Building Area: 167,200 sf

Design Approach / Narrative
Roy Martin Middle School is situated in a disadvantaged neighborhood within one-quarter mile of the famous Fremont Street in Las Vegas. The original Roy Martin Middle School was constructed in 1964. Over the years the school has become an activity hub for the neighborhood. In 2004 the existing school fell victim to arson. The gymnasium was destroyed and portions of the school were heavily damaged. Temporary trailers and a tent structure had replaced the portions that were left for rubble.

This project is a replacement for the now partially destroyed school. The new school attempts to replace the building that once housed the activity core and excitement of the neighborhood with simple yet dramatic gestures that reflect the diversity and creativity of this community. A central courtyard acts as the school hub focusing all school energy to this area while the use of daylight in classrooms dramatically affect the form making of the buildings. The dynamic forms, the larger than life signage and welcoming atmosphere all reflect the pride of place that the students and teachers have for their "community hub" - the impetus of this design.

Sustainability
Roy Martin Middle School is the first built multi-story prototype middle school for Clark County School District. In this particular case it is a replacement school for the old Roy Martin Middle School of which a portion burned in a fire set by arsons two years ago. As a prototype, the project had to be designed for a multitude of site restrictions; slope, orientation, street locations, views etc. During the design of the prototype; without knowing each of these parameters the building had to be flexible.

The primary focus of Roy Martin Middle School is the kids. Therefore it was decided that sustainability practices should be used in ways that will help the children learn and at the same time become more aware of the importance of sustainability and the environment. With a limited budget, the design team began the design by investigating what sustainable concepts could be implemented that would help in the everyday learning environment and ranking them in order of most important/economical to least important/economical.

The first and most important aspect of the project was to design a building that focused on solar orientation. The design team developed a scheme that allows natural light into every classroom for 60% of the day without the need for artificial lighting. This was accomplished by developing a floor plan that could be oriented the same direction on any type of site, no matter the site. The only restriction was that the site had to be a 10 acre square site minimum.

Due to the minimum site size required to accommodate the new prototype school the design team was able to place the new school on the existing playground. Existing boulders found on the site are being used as retaining walls along the perimeter of the site. Other standard design practices are being implemented; the use of recycled material, low VOC content in materials, efficient hvac systems etc.