Valley View Elementary School, York Suburban School District

As part of a strategic plan to realign grade structure within the District, York Suburban School District completed renovations and additions totaling 61,327 SF for Valley View Elementary School and converted the facility from a K-5 to a K-2 school. The project serves as an important lesson in the role of design as a valuable tool for successful strategic planning and adaptive re-use that maximizes educational resources.

At Valley View, the design of the addition maintains the character of the existing building and features the reuse of the original cupola for the school, removed years ago.

What had once been a series of disjointed additions beginning in the 1940’s is replaced with a design seeking coherence in the sum of its parts. The new entry hall provides a new physical and psychological ‘center’ for the building, marrying the old and new portions of the facility and their functions.
As part of the comprehensive campus approach to site design, a new bus loop design separates school bus, automobile, and pedestrian traffic, as well as removing bus idling from the busy township roads surrounding the facility. Other practical achievements include eliminating barriers to accessibility throughout the building and the campus. New and renovated existing HVAC systems augment the efficiency of a campus-wide central energy plant strategy for both heating and cooling.