Skip to main content



Showcase Stair | School K-12

application

In schools, Showcase Stair creates spatial drama and an architectural focal point in lobbies and libraries. 

research

Showcase Stair evokes a feeling of grandeur, bringing to mind that the school serves a public function for the greater good. Found in a variety of school buildings, regardless of geographic location, grade level, or curriculum, Showcase Stair also serves as a landmark within the school, a wayfinding feature for students that breaks the normal repetition of corridors and classrooms. Used in conjunction with materiality and lighting, the stair becomes an object of architectural beauty. 

History & Theory

The origin of Showcase Stair begins with the development of the standard stair. "Evident in the architecture of prehistory, as at Knossos in Crete (1600-1400 BC), [the stair was seen] in a succession of civilizations [and remained] an essentially static monolithic arrangement of steps." It wasn't until several centuries later that the stair evolved from a merely functional form of circulation to an architectural focal point.1 

According to Michael Spens, the turning point occurred in Europe during the Baroque period. "In Vienna in the early eighteenth century, Lukas von Hildebrandt (1668-1745) had brought a new baroque spatial emphasis to bear upon the staircase, in the Upper Belvedere; and it was in Germany, soon after, that Balthasar Neumann (1687-1753) made the staircase a central feature in his composition for the palaces at both Wurzburg and at Bruchsal . . . Increasingly, the staircase occupied a central role in the expression of spatial form in great public buildings in Europe."2

As the staircase began to be seen as an architectural focal point, its purpose in buildings evolved, transcending simply circulation and becoming a symbol of power. "Such centrality for the staircase now seems a natural characteristic of the grandeur of the imperial architectures of the eighteenth and nineteenth-century European powers, with the need for rhetoric, procession and display by those in power . . . that it persisted into the twentieth century, extended into the major civic buildings of both East and West, comes as no surprise."3 As the origin of schools was as public or semi-public institutions, it makes sense that this dictum of grand staircases in civic buildings would make its way into educational facilities, demonstrating the power of both teachers and government in each place.

The stair as a symbol of power extends beyond an individual's understanding of architectural history and has seeped into our cultural understanding of architecture. In his book Archteypes in Architecture, theorist Thiis-Evenson states that, "Broad stairs are described as monumental and considered suitable for public display... [a broad stair] is not meant for just one person at a time but many, the individual being just part of a potential crowd . . . [it] is generous; it offers space and is inviting."4 The broad stair in schools serves both a functional purpose as well as an architectural one.

Thiis-Evensen and architect/theorist Christopher Alexander describe stairs as expressing movement. Alexander asks us to think about stairs as a stage, a live-in space that connects one interior space to another. Thiis-Evensen believes that various stair types give one a sense of "motion impulses." That is, stairs not only impart a spontaneous climbing impulse, but the form of a stair may convey a sense of an appropriate pace, for example, movement up a broad flight of stairs is slow, measured, ceremonial.5

It wasn't until the turn of the 20th century that schools truly began increasing in size, as education legislation became a hot topic and schooling became an increasingly important requirement for the American workforce. While architects were certainly brought in to create school buildings, it wasn't until 1950 that school architecture really took flight. According to architect William Caudill, "from 1915 to 1945, progress in school planning slowed up."6 But by 1950, "the professional journals began to be more discreet in their choices of schools for publication" and architecture in schools began to be viewed as more than purely functional; it became clear to architects such as Caudill that school facilities needed to do more than just house students. At this juncture, Showcase Stairs appeared in schools, elevating them from mere buildings to architecture. 

Effect

William Caudill has written extensively on the needs of school buildings, spending a significant amount of time discussing the need for a building to fulfill student needs of both form and function. A frontrunner among architects as they began to collaborate with teachers around 1950, Caudill saw the need for aesthetically pleasing buildings that functioned according to educational needs. In his book Toward Better School Design, Caudill makes his feelings on school design clear: "the question is repeatedly asked, "can a functional school building be beautiful?" And there is only one answer to that question... if a school building is truly functional, it is, as a part of its function, beautiful . . . If it is not beautiful, it is not truly functional."7 

Contemporary studies further support Caudill's claims. According to a study by Rittelmeyer cited in Schools for the Future, "Children want varied but not chaotic schools with unconstrained building forms, including non-oppressive ceilings and appealing color schemes . . . a school would be considered friendly/pleasant/inviting and beautiful if it could be perceived, in form and color design as varied and stimulating, unconstrained and liberating, and warm and soft." This finding comes from a study wherein "200 students were asked to assess schoolhouse facades and interior spaces [on a] polar scale with 25 steps."8 Hence, aesthetically satisfactory stairs that break from the norm with some amount of variation would be considered beautiful to school children; a Showcase Stair would again be as functional as it is visually pleasant. 

The variation created by a Showcase Stair serves an additional function. Because of its variation and the size of its form in space, Showcase Stairs become landmarks within a school, helping children navigate what can be an otherwise confusing, monotonous space. The term landmark has been used by Kevin Lynch to describe the ways in which people go about navigating space. He states that, "the Duomo of Florence is a prime example of a distant landmark: visible from near and far, by day or night; unmistakable; dominant by size and contour; closely related to the city's traditions; coincident with the religious and transit center; paired with its campanile in such a way that the direction of view can be gauged from a distance." Like the Duomo, Showcase Stair acts as a landmark, visible from afar, and unique within schools, acting as "a stable anchor for the perception of the complex."9

Chronological Sequence

The importance of aesthetically pleasing school buildings was not a focus of architects until around 1950. It was also during this time period that architectural digests began to be more selective in the schools they showed in print, seeking out those that demonstrated planning and collaboration between architects, planners, and school administrators and staff. For this reason, the research into the chronological sequence of Showcase Stair begins in 1950.

One of the first examples of a Showcase Stair published in Architectural Record is the Kellogg High School in Kellogg, Idaho in 1957. The site of the Perkins & Will designed building was chosen for its "cost, convenience, and beauty of surroundings."10 Meant to incorporate elements from the surrounding natural landscape, an image from the school shows a back wall made of stone, with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall adjacent. Descending from the ceiling is the lower half of a staircase, supported only from the landing above; the drama of its position is increased by the lack of support underneath it. The railings of the staircase run along both sides of the stair with both upper and lower rails forming thin lines parallel to the stairs direction. The upper half of the stair can be seen receding at an angle into the ceiling. 

Northeast Junior High School built in 1958 accommodated 1,200 students in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is situated around a small interior courtyard. In the central building, where the majority of the "noisy activities requiring large amounts of space" are located, a Showcase Stair descends from a second floor space into the lunchroom.11 Similar to the Kellogg High School stair, this stair contains no supports underneath it; it is merely attached to the floor above it and to the floor at its base. The room it descends into appears to be a lunchroom, tables seating six people are arrayed in Marching Order below the stair. Behind the stair, the school's central courtyard is seen through floor-to-ceiling windows. A second photograph from Northeast Junior High shows the stair from another angle, this time including a second stair that mirrors the original. Both stairs descend dramatically into a large lunchroom. Both are broad with steps that appear to be shallow, meant to convey large numbers of students at the same time.

Sarasota Senior High School, was built in 1960 as part of a larger initiative to update the schools in Sarasota, Florida. The school's architects attempt to create a building that took advantage of the natural climate, minimizing its heat and humidity, maximizing its direct sunlight. An image of the school depicts the main stair that is "located in the entrance area lobby . . . at the head of the stair [is] a balcony overhanging the lobby area."12 Two planters flank the broad base of the stair. Behind the concrete stairs is a large, floor-to-ceiling window, the light from which causes the stair to stand out even further from its background. Halfway up the rise, a large balcony cantilevers over the stair, providing a lowered ceiling for the first run of steps and the landing.

Georgian Hills Junior High School (1964) in Memphis, Tennessee, was built to accommodate grades seven through nine. The school incorporates large, multi-use spaces that double as both gymnasiums, lobbies, and band space.13 A Showcase Stair descends from an upper corridor space down into a large, open gymnasium. The Double-Return stair is composed of two separate flights that came from opposite ends of the upper space and come together to form a single landing before descending into two separate lower stairs. The coffered ceiling and an abstractly patterned wall opposite the stairwell soften the monolithic concrete space. 

Designed for the town of Hamden, Connecticut, the Shepherd Glen School was built in 1973. It is composed of several "Learning Center [Units] . . . [which] provide space and facilities for 125 students" each. A large "instructional Material Center, capable of accommodating 400 students is the focal point of the academic area."14 This space has shelving for materials, as well as several large stairs that descend the two floors down into the space. Five separate stairs are used in the space to provide egress and to conform to Connecticut's building code. Skylights permeate the ceiling plane of the central study space, letting light into the interior space. Each stair has closed sides, making each stair appear more monumental in space. 

In 1975, the Cleveland Heights and University Heights public school district underwent a mass renovation project that resulted in "one high school, three junior high schools, and eleven elementary schools." A goal of the project was to "open up the old cellular buildings as much as possible, not in the glib sense of creating barns, but in a way designed to improve sharing... what resulted architecturally is pleasing inter-penetration of space with mezzanines and stairs, and a sense of lightness and vibrancy."15 The new Noble Elementary School features a stair tower that descends from the ceiling to a lower structure that stands as a sort of polygonal column where the stair turns and descends into space. The stair descends boldly into space and is set far away from the room's walls. The upper half of the stair's exterior is painted yellow, the lower half of the exterior is painted red, a contrast to the white walls in the rest of the interior.

A second photo from Noble Elementary shows the stair from afar; from this angle, all the exterior planes of the stair appear to be yellow. The stair seems to be a new addition to what is clearly an older, renovated space; the color of the stair sets it apart as a newer, separate structure. The lower half of the stair, coming from a small landing, extends down into the space as a ramp. 

Perkins & Will designed the North End Community School, built in 1978 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The school exemplifies "the trend of using educational facilities to help solve urban planning problems and community needs." Designed to branch physical and racial neighborhood gaps, the school was built partially underground to connect three different school sites; the final plan included not only a school, but neighborhood facilities as well, such as day care and parks. "A big, skylighted, three-story open space with exhibits, auditorium, [and] cafeteria" acts as a central mall for the space and is connected directly to the school. More than three stories high, a large staircase descends two stories from a skywalk to the first floor. The layout of the space is dynamic, drawing attention to the large staircase. Beams criss-cross the ceiling plane, while above, skylights let in natural light. The interior appears to consist largely of concrete.16

Winner of he 1978 Bard Award "for local architectural and urban-design excellence," the Harlem School of the Arts in New York City provides a cultural center for between 700 and 800 students, with the goal of highlighting culture and providing positive accomplishments for the neighborhood."17 A large staircase descends into a large open space beneath a large skylight that ran the length of the stair's upper rise. Descending from above, the stair has a large, rounded landing, from which the lower stair juts out at an angle toward a circulation path, inviting students to climb it. A bench near the base of the landing provides a place of solace for students. The far wall appears to be textured with some kind of concrete or brick, while a small corner window is made of glass brick.

Barnstable Middle School, designed by Caudill Rowlett Scott and built in 1979 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, is "a two-story, L-shaped building" that holds 1200 students organized into four "houses" of 300 students each. The school is "oriented towards a landscaped pond... meant to encourage the extension of eating, teaching, and other student activities to the outdoors as weather permits." The four houses are centered around a "double-height student lounge and display area." In this space, a large staircase descends from an upper walkway down into space. Though the stair doubles back on itself, it still looms large in the space. The halfway point on the stair has a large balcony on which students congregate. Adjacent to the stair, there appears to be a corridor going off in one direction and a lunchroom in the other.18

Built in 1980 for 2,600 students, the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Cambridge, Massachusetts was the result of combining two schools, Rindge Tech and Cambridge High and Latin. The school, designed by Eduardo Catalano, combines the two previously existing buildings into one large high school, creating significantly more open space within the school. One such space was the student lounge, which has a U-shape Showcase Stair linking it to the floor above. The metal stair comes down into the space and featured relatively open sides, enclosed only by a balustrade of metal bars and a wood railing. At the landing, the stair doubles back along itself, providing a small gathering spot for students on the stair. The rest of the interior is brightly colored, contrasting the cement blocks that the stair runs alongside.19

"Regretting that a return to traditional ‘bells and cells' [are] replacing the imaginative school planning in the 1960s and early ‘70s," Earl Flansburgh designed Arlington Elementary School in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The school houses K-8 students and was completed in 1988. The school's library is a large, open, two-story space, with study desks located on the second floor, looking down into the stacks below. A Showcase Stair connects the two spaces, descending into the first floor, with a curved support below. The walls in the space are white, with sunlight coming in through skylights and clerestory windows; attention is drawn to the stair due to the dark carpeting on the stair and the dark painted railings on its sides.20 

Another Perkins & Will design is the Warsaw Community High School in Warsaw, Indiana (1991). The symmetrical structure was built to serve a large farming community.21 The firm strived to incorporate natural light into the building at the request of teachers and staff. The stairwell is quite large and filled with light; both behind and in front of the stair are large, multi-story glass windows. The stair is positioned in a place of prominence, with the upper half of the stair descending to a light-filled landing, then splitting and doubling back on itself to reach the lower floor. The railings are painted a teal color, contrasting the white walls of the interior and the dark floor. 

A stair similar to Warsaw Community High School's can be found in yet another Perkins & Will designed building, Troy High School in Troy, Michigan. Built in 1993, this school exemplifies a national trend of schools as "educational parks [with] facilities [used by the community] as cultural and recreational centers." The interior and exterior of the school features brick, "a response to local market conditions: a surfeit of unemployed Detroit bricklayers made the design cost-effective." One of the school's many stairs descends prominently near the school's cafeteria. Painted white railings and materials set the stair apart from the darker walls, but allow it to fit in with the white floor and ceiling plane. In a photo, the stairs descend from the upper floor in a single stair, then split at a landing to double back on either side, providing plenty of circulation space for students.22 

In Far Hills, New Jersey, the Far Hills Country Day School was given an update in 1999 that gave the school "more classroom space, a safer and more efficient traffic flow, and code improvements. The school's Upper and Lower Schools house grades 6-8 and K-5, respectively. The architect, Ford Farewell Mills and Gatsch strove to "provide a dynamic series of spaces that proclaim the excitement of the kids' mission and incorporate the whole drama of a school day." One such space is the "double-height interior commons," a space lit from above by clerestory windows. A stair descends from the upper floor and runs along a white wall; it was enclosed by another white wall in front of it that runs at waist-height along the other side of the stair, creating a zig-zag shape. The stair covers the length of the wall, and in front of it sits curved steps that provide auditorium-like seating. The exposed ceiling plane and the seating are both made of wood, contrasting the white walls in the rest of the space.23

A site visit to the Flint Hill School, built in 2001 in Oakton, Virginia by Chatelain Architects revealed a set of Showcase Stairs in the school's library. The stairs descend from either side of an upper level which looks down onto the library's first floor. The stairs run straight down and punctuate the space, appearing with its green metal rail appearing against the library's white walls.

P.S. 156, a school in Brooklyn, New York, was designed to accommodate "200 gifted seventh and eight graders and 900 K-6 students." With the help of an Annenberg grant, the school offers multidisciplinary art education, which is reflected in the school's interior. "The most visibly compelling part of the building, a two-story wall of glass tiles designed by noted sculptor Ned Smyth overlooks the prominent grand stairway marking the main entrance... Illuminated at night and prominently visible to the community through a glazed wall, it fronted Sutter Avenue, one of the main arteries in Brownsville". Images of this wall show the large, extra wide staircase descending along the wall, with a large glass wall of windows opposite it. Metal bannisters flank the staircase and run down its middle.24 

Another city school, Lycée Français is located on Manhattan's Upper East Side and holds the distinction of being "the first independent school in Manhattan to build a new facilty in decades." The school, built in 2003, accomodates 1250 students and faculty in a Modern-style building. "Light penetrated the building's commons from above and from all sides," illuminating the space's large Showcase Stair that run along glass walls adjacent to the lunchroom. The stair's metal structure and mesh sides are a contrast to the white walls, ceiling, and beams, as well as the colored furniture in the interior. The staircase spans two stories, with relatively few supports beneath it.25

The Jeremiah E. Burke High School built in 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts is among the first to exemplify the mayor's Community Learning Initiative which hoped to "promote education and literacy across the city." Architects Schwartz/Silver "used a light hand in the renovation, restoring exterior masonry, updating interiors and systems, and expanding the cafeteria." Among the newer parts of the facility is the library, which contains a Showcase Stair; "the school library [is] linked to the old building by a glass-and-aluminum bridge and can be accessed from the public library below by a long stair running through its center." The stair desends into the space from three floors above and runs straight to the ground floor, with a brief opening at the second floor. A transparent red plastic covers the sides of the stair, distinguishing it from the rest of the space; the rest of the walls and ceiling are white, with the library shelving and the stair's treads in a natural wood.26 

"Located in the heart of downtown Phoenix, the Phoenix Union Bioscience High School provides Arizona's most ethnically diverse school district with a highly specialized campus that takes full advantage of the city's rapid growth as a hotbed for biotechnical research and development." Built in 2010, the school incorporates large, flexible spaces for student use. Among them is a "large, three-story high, light-filled ‘town hall' along the south wall [that served] as a cafeteria and assembly area and [was] lined with three garage-style roll-up doors ... a monolithic steel staircase ascends all the way to the school's top floor". Supported from the ceiling, the large Showcase Stair has a landing at the second floor on the way down. Red painted metal sets the staircase apart from the white-painted interior. Black metal mesh and black metal railings line either side of the stair.27

Conclusion

Found in every decade since 1950, architects employed a variety of historical stair types to create Showcase Stairs in school buildings. All of the published stairs express a manipulation of space and an implied motion. Some stairs that open on both sides make staircases objects in space. Those that are open on one side provide visual focus and act as a spatial connector.  Broad stairs, in some cases allowing four people abreast to ascend and descend, and low risers suggest motion that is ceremonial.28

Of the twenty interiors analyzed here, Perkins & Will led the architectural pack in designing four (Kellogg High School, 1957; North End Community School, 1978; Warsaw Community High School, 1991; Troy High School, 1993). Schools attracted other big name architects, as well, including Paul Rudolf (Sarasota Senior High School, 1960). Surprisingly, the influential school architects, Caudill, Rowlett, Scott, designed only one (Barnstable Middle School, 1979) typically preferring to create sprawling, one-story schools without a need for stairs. From these examples from 1957 to 2010, Showcase Stairs exemplified whatever style of architecture was prominent, from International Style to the low-cost, concrete Brutalist architecture and including Postmodern. The Showcase Stair is firmly established as an archetypical practice in school design.29 

end notes

  1. 1) Michael Spens, Staircases (London: Academy Editions, 1995), 7.
  2. 2) Spens, Staircases, 7-8.
  3. 3) Spens, Staircases, 8-9.
  4. 4) Thomas Thiis-Evensen, Archteypes in Architecture (Oxford: Norwegian University Press, 1987), 95.
  5. 5) Thiis-Evensen, Archetypes in Architecture, 87-113.
  6. 6) John W. Sipple, "1800s & Common Schools & The Teacher" (Lecture, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Sep.16, 2011); William W. Caudill, Toward Better School Design (Ann Arbor, Mich.: FW Dodge Corp, 1954), 13-14. 
  7. 7) Caudill, Toward Better School Design, 141.
  8. 8) C. Rittelmeyer, Positive School Design: How pupils experience color and form (Wiesbaden: Bauverlag, 1994), 47.; Rotraut Walden, Schools for the Future: Design Proposals from Architectural Psychology (Germany: Hogrefe and Huber Publishers, 2009), 82.
  9. 9) Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City (Boston: MIT Press), 82, 101.
  10. 10) Kellogg High School [1957] Perkins & Will, architects; Kellogg, ID in "The Problems of School Sites," Architectural Record 121, no. 1 (Jan. 1957): 200-14; PhotoCrd.: Hedrick-Blessing.
  11. 11) Northeast Junior High School [1958] Thorshov & Cerny, architects; Minneapolis, MN in "Limited Urban Site Calls for Consolidation," Architectural Record 123, no. 5 (May 1958): 238-41; PhotoCrd: Warren Reynolds, Infinity, Inc.
  12. 12) Sarasota Senior High School [1960] Paul Rudolph, architect; Sarasota, FL in "School Designed to Control Florida Climate," Architectural Record 127, no. 5 (May 1960): 201-02; PhotoCrd.: Joseph W. Molitor.
  13. 13) Georgian Hills Junior High School [1964] Gassner/Nathan/Browne, architects; Memphis, TN in "Compact Three Level Design Achieved at Moderate Cost," Architectural Record 136, no. 3 (Sep. 1964): 238-39; PhotoCrd: API.
  14. 14) Shepherd Glen School [1973] Carlin, Pozzi, & Associates, architects; Hamden, CT in "Laminated Timber and Lighting Geometries Complement Each Other," Architectural Record 153, no. 6 (Jun. 1973): 158-61; PhotoCrd.: Robert E. Fischer.
  15. 15) Noble Elementary School [1975] Richard Fleischman Architects, Inc, architects; Cleveland Heights, OH in "Mass Producing Renovation: Fifteen Schools at Once," Architectural Record 157, no. 5 (May 1975): 134-35; PhotoCrd.: Anonymous.
  16. 16) North End Community School [1978] Perkins & Will, architects; Springfield, MA in "Elementary School and Community Center Link Separated Parts of City on an Improbable Site," Architectural Record 164, no. 2 (Aug. 1978): 116-19; PhotoCrd.: Nathaniel Lieberman.
  17. 17) Harlem School of the Arts [1979] Ulrich Franzen, architect; Harlem, New York City, NY in "Harlem School of the Arts," Architectural Record 165, no. 5 (May 1979): 96-100; PhotoCrd: Norman McGrath.
  18. 18) Barnstable Middle School [1979] Caudill, Rowlett, Scott, architects; Hyannis, MA in "Schools," Architectural Record 165, no. 7 (Jun. 1979): 132-33; PhotoCrd.: Nick Wheeler.
  19. 19) Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School [1980] Eduardo Catalano, architect; Cambridge, MA in "Four Schools with Thought," Architectural Record 168, no. 2 (Aug. 1980): 114-16; PhotoCrd.: Eduardo Catalano.
  20. 20) Arlington Elementary School [1988] Earl R. Flansburgh Associates, Inc., architects; Lawrence, MA in "Varied Textures and Subtle Color Enrich a Conservative Pattern," Architectural Record 176, no. 10 (Sep. 1988): 112-13; PhotoCrd.: Sam Sweezy Photos.
  21. 21) Warsaw Community High School [1991] Perkins & Will, architect; Warsaw, IN in "Prairie Tech," Architectural Record 179, no. 1 (Jan. 1991): 94-97; PhotoCrd: Gregory Murphey Photos.
  22. 22) Troy High School [1993] Perkins & Will, architects; Troy, MI in "School Sprit," Architectural Record 181, no. 8 (Aug. 1993): 96-03; PhotoCrd.: Balthazar Korab Photography.
  23. 23) Far Hills Country Day School [1999] Ford Farewell Mills and Gatsch, architects; Far Hills, NJ in "Open Door Policies," Architectural Record 188, no. 11 (Nov. 1999): 126-128; PhotoCrd.: Chuck Choi.
  24. 24) P.S. 156, I.S. 392 [2003] Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, architect; Brooklyn, NY in "Building Types Study: K-12 Schools," Architectural Record 191, no. 3 (Mar. 2003): 140-43; PhotoCrd.: Kevin Chu/KCJP.
  25. 25) Lycée Français [2004] Polshek Partnership Architects, architects; New York City, NY in "Environment Counts," Architectural Record 192, no. 3 (Mar. 2004): 132-135; PhotoCrd: Richard Barnes.
  26. 26) Jeremiah E. Burke High School [2010] Schwartz/Silver, architects; Boston, MA in "Schools of the 21st Century," Architectural Record 198, no. 1 (Jan. 2010): 90-93; PhotoCrd.: Alan Karchmer.
  27. 27) Phoenix Union Bioscience High School [2010] Orcutt | Winslow, architects; Phoenix, AZ in "Schools of the 21st Century," Architectural Record 198, no. 1 (Jan. 2010): 106-10; PhotoCrd: A.F. Payne.
  28. 28) John Templer, The Staircase: History and Theories (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1994), 19-34. 
  29. 29) Evidence for the archetypical use and the chronological sequence of Showcase Stair in 1-12 schools was developed from the following sources: 1950 Kellogg High School [1957] Perkins & Will, architects; Kellogg, ID in "The Problems of School Sites," Architectural Record 121, no. 1 (Jan. 1957): 202; PhotoCrd.: Hedrick-Blessing.; Northeast Junior High School [1958] Thorshov & Cerny, architects; Minneapolis, MN in "Limited Urban Site Calls for Consolidation," Architectural Record 123, no. 5 (May 1958): 238; PhotoCrd.: Warren Reynolds, Infinity, Inc.; Northeast Junior High School [1958] Thorshov & Cerny, architects; Minneapolis, MN in "Limited Urban Site Calls for Consolidation," Architectural Record 123, no. 5 (May 1958): 241; PhotoCrd: Warren Reynolds, Infinity, Inc.; 1960 Sarasota Senior High School [1960] Paul Rudolph, architect; Sarasota, FL in "School Designed to Control Florida Climate," Architectural Record 127, no. 5 (May 1960): 201; PhotoCrd.: Joseph W. Molitor.; Georgian Hills Junior High School [1964] Gassner/Nathan/Browne, architects; Memphis, TN in "Compact Three Level Design Achieved at Moderate Cost," Architectural Record 136, no. 3 (Sep. 1964): 238; PhotoCrd: API photos.; 1970 Shepherd Glen School [1973] Carlin, Pozzi, & Associates, architects; Hamden, CT in "Laminated Timber and Lighting Geometries Complement Each Other," Architectural Record 153, no. 6 (Jun. 1973): 161; PhotoCrd.: Robert E. Fischer.; Shepherd Glen School [1973] Carlin, Pozzi, & Associates, architects; Hamden, CT in "Laminated Timber and Lighting Geometries Complement Each Other," Architectural Record 153, no. 6 (Jun. 1973): 161; PhotoCrd.: Robert E. Fischer.; Noble Elementary School [1975] Richard Fleischman Architects, Inc, architects; Cleveland Heights, OH in "Mass Producing Renovation: Fifteen Schools at Once," Architectural Record 157, no. 5 (May 1975): 135; PhotoCrd.: anonymous.; Noble Elementary School [1975] Richard Fleischman Architects, Inc, architects; Cleveland Heights, OH in "Mass Producing Renovation: Fifteen Schools at Once," Architectural Record 157, no. 5 (May 1975): 135; PhotoCrd: anonymous.; North End Community School [1978] Perkins & Will, architects; Springfield, MA in "Elementary School and Community Center Link Separated Parts of City on an Improbable Site," Architectural Record 164, no. 2 (Aug. 1978): 117; PhotoCrd: Nathaniel Lieberman.; Harlem School of the Arts [1979] Ulrich Franzen, architect; Harlem, New York City, NY in "Harlem School of the Arts," Architectural Record 165, no. 5 (May 1979): 96; PhotoCrd: Norman McGrath.; Barnstable Middle School [1979] Caudill, Rowlett, Scott, architects; Hyannis, MA in "Schools," Architectural Record 165, no. 7 (Jun. 1979): 133; PhotoCrd.: Nick Wheeler.; 1980 Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School [1980] Eduardo Catalano, architect; Cambridge, MA in "Four Schools with Thought," Architectural Record 168, no. 2 (Aug. 1980): 116; PhotoCrd.: Eduardo Catalano photos.; Arlington Elementary School [1988] Earl R. Flansburgh Associates, Inc., architects; Lawrence, MA in "Varied Textures and Subtle Color Enrich a Conservative Pattern," Architectural Record 176, no. 10 (Sep. 1988): 112; PhotoCrd.: Sam Sweezy Photos.; 1990 Warsaw Community High School [1991] Perkins & Will, architect; Warsaw, IN in "Prairie Tech," Architectural Record 179, no. 1 (Jan. 1991): 97; PhotoCrd.: Gregory Murphey Photos.; Warsaw Community High School [1991] Perkins & Will, architect; Warsaw, IN in "Prairie Tech," Architectural Record 179, no. 1 (Jan. 1991): 97; PhotoCrd.: Gregory Murphey Photos.; Troy High School [1993] Perkins & Will, architects; Troy, MI in "School Sprit," Architectural Record 181, no. 8 (Aug. 1993): 102; PhotoCrd.: Balthazar Korab Photography.; Far Hills Country Day School [1999] Ford Farewell Mills and Gatsch, architects; Far Hills, NJ in "Open Door Policies," Architectural Record 188, no. 11 (Nov. 1999): 128; PhotoCrd: Chuck Choi.; 2000 The Flint Hill School [2001] Chatelain Architects; Oakton, VA; SIte Visit, Katherine Mooney, 13 August, 2012; PhotoCrd: Katherine Mooney, Intypes Project, 13 August, 2012.; The Flint Hill School [2001] Chatelain Architects; Oakton, VA; SIte Visit, Katherine Mooney, 13 August, 2012; PhotoCrd: Katherine Mooney, Intypes Project, 13 August, 2012.;  P.S. 156, I.S. 392 [2003] Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, architect; Brooklyn, NY in "Building Types Study: K-12 Schools," Architectural Record 191, no. 3 (Mar. 2003): 142; PhotoCrd.: Kevin Chu/KCJP.; P.S. 156, I.S. 392 [2003] Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, architect; Brooklyn, NY in "Building Types Study: K-12 Schools," Architectural Record 191, no. 3 (Mar. 2003): 142; PhotoCrd.: Kevin Chu/KCJP.; Lycée Français [2004] Polshek Partnership Architects, architects; New York City in "Environment Counts," Architectural Record 192, no. 3 (Mar. 2004): 134; PhotoCrd.: Richard Barnes.; 2010 Jeremiah E. Burke High School [2010] Schwartz/Silver, architects; Boston, MA in "Schools of the 21st Century," Architectural Record 198, no. 1 (Jan. 2010): 93; PhotoCrd: Alan Karchmer. Phoenix Union Bioscience High School [2010] Orcutt | Winslow, architects; Phoenix, AZ in "Schools of the 21st Century," Architectural Record 198, no. 1 (Jan. 2010): 107; PhotoCrd.: A.F. Payne.

bibliographic citations

1) The Interior Archetypes Research and Teaching Project, Cornell University, www.intypes.cornell.edu (accessed month & date, year).

2) Mooney, Katherine Elizabeth. "Theory Studies: Archetypical Practices in American K-12 Schools." M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2012, 103-34.