Inside Pleasant Ridge Montessori

Last Sunday, the Pleasant Ridge Montessori School threw open its doors to invite residents, parents, students, and other interested parties to explore their new school at 5945 Montgomery Road.

Steed Hammond Paul and DHArchitects designed the 75,310-square-foot building, which is going for LEED Silver certification and would be the first LEED-certified public school in Ohio.

The building itself is situated slightly askew from the roadway to take advantage of natural light.

One thing that is striking is the nice, clearly marked crosswalk from the intersection of Montgomery and Lester that's in alignment with the building's front door.

One also notices that the entrance to the building is clearly defined, unlike the multiple mish-mash of non-descript doorways seen on a lot of recent school designs.

The building has three floors of classrooms, all ringing a common area that can be used for group activities. Windows between each classroom and the common area allow natural light to filter in.

All non-classroom activities are located in the one-story wing, which extends northward toward the Pleasant Ridge business district. Here you'll find a massive art room (including a kiln room), a music room and stage, the cafeteria and kitchen, and the gymnasium.

Be sure to check out my companion piece in this week's issue of Soapbox for more details on the building's LEED features.

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Previous reading on BC:
CPS aerial updates (4/11/08)