Lincoln Elementary School
						Grades Served: K-6 Total Square Footage: 83,400 Completion: August 1998 Cost: Estimate: $6,711,100 Actual: $6,666,406 General Contractor: John Fridh & Sons, Inc. Rockford, Illinois Mechanical Engineer: KJWW Engineering Rock Island, Illinois Civil Engineer: McClure Engineering Rockford, Illinois
	This new elementary school opened up for classes in Fall 1999. The 83,400 s.f. facility is the “twin” to another elementary we completed for the District in December 1995. The design concepts and finished product proved so successful that it became a prototype design for the District.
	The organization of this compact, square plan provides 4 classrooms per grade level clustered into six “neighborhoods.” The General Office Complex, Learning Resources Center, Cafeteria, Gym, Art, Computer Lab, Science, and Music Spaces are laid out on the diagonal axis, a layout which focuses these elements as student centered. Two pair of special education classrooms complete the plan. Day-to-day flexibility is found in six moveable panel walls. At each grade level, one panel wall between two classrooms provides 1,745 square feet of large group gathering space. With the current curriculum, this allows teachers to assemble an entire grade level for a special presentation. This design element is also an ideal advantage to co-curricular teaching. At the large scale, an operable partition between the cafeteria and gym allows assembly for 600-1000 people for large events or theatrical activities.
				(Clockwise from top) New Main Entrance; Library; Inside the Cafeteria looking into the Gym; Science Lab Classroom; Inside a Classroom with moveable panels partially open; . Photos taken by Nels Akerlund