Marlon Blackwell Architects

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley

FAYETTEVILLE MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Marlon Blackwell Architects

CIVIL
Bates & Associates

STRUCTURAL
Myers-beatty Engineering

DESIGN TEAM
Meryati Johari Blackwell

MEP
Hp Engineering Inc.

MANUFACTURERS
Corbin Russwin, Corian® Design, Dupont, Firestone Building Products, Sherwin-williams

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Nabholz Construction

LANDSCAPE
Appian Inc, Evan Niehues

PHOTOGRAPHS
Timothy Hursley

TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COST
$1,693,830.00

AREA
7937 Ft²

YEAR
2012

LOCATION
United States

CATAGORY
Elementary & Middle School

The Montessori Elementary School sits in the small triangular remainder of a site prone to flooding and houses classrooms, a conference room, and a new commercial kitchen.

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley

As the first building constructed in accordance with the Fayetteville Streamside Protection Act, significant site restrictions helped form the Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School.

Considerable setbacks reduced the buildable area to a small triangle in the southwest corner of the site.

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley

Combined with a limited budget and an aggressive schedule, the design had to negotiate strict environmental criteria while accommodating urgent need for classrooms for grades 1-4, a conference room, and a new commercial kitchen.

The ground floor opens to include a raingarden that retains and filters rainwater to help mitigate flooding. 

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley

A green roof atop the single-story eastern volume also helps reduce runoff and serves as further insulation. A second floor is provided along the western edge, housing additional classrooms.

The material palette is kept deliberately simple, durable, and economical, with clear cypress providing a warm and inviting tactility to the southern elevation and entry porch.

The cypress reappears above the covered play area, which is the one extension allowed into the flood plain.

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley

Pre-finished box-rib metal panels are the primary cladding for both volumes, carefully detailed to elevate this humble material through craftsmanship.

This delicate balance between program, budget, and environmental demands results in a taut, high performance school, filled with abundant natural light and invites students, parents and teachers alike to explore the relationship between the built environment and the natural world, as evidenced by the owner’s collection of fossils and other artifacts of nature.

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley

Born of its site and certified LEED Silver, the Fayetteville Montessori illustrates that a shared commitment to economy and environmental responsiveness is not exclusive, but can inform and act as an inspiration for the design.

Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley


Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
© Timothy Hursley


Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
Section 1
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
Section 2


Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
Diagram 1
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
Diagram 2
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
Site Plan
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
Ground Floor Plan
Fayetteville Montessori Elementary School
Second Floor Plan

Marlon Blackwell Architects
T +1 479 9739121
Marlon Blackwell Architects
42 E Center St, Fayetteville, AR 72701, United States