Title: Southeast Raleigh YMCA + Elementary School
Location of Proejct: Raleigh, North Carolina
Project Completion Date: May 2019
Firm Name: RATIO Architects

Short Description: Located on Rock Quarry Road in Raleigh, this 117,391 SF project brings together the YMCA of the Triangle and the Wake County Public School System into a single building with a shared mission to provide wellness and education tools to the community in conjunction with the Southeast Raleigh Promise initiative. Part of a larger mixed-use “Beacon Site,” the project aims to break the area’s cycle of intergenerational poverty. The facility required a carefully considered design to provide the safety and security required of an elementary school while making the full range of YMCA programs available within one unified, community-focused structure.

Architect's Statement: To address the challenge of combining an elementary school and YMCA in one facility while meeting stakeholder expectations, program requirements, and security measures for both organizations, the design team held numerous community outreach and interactive visioning workshops to identify shared project goals and reach consensus for priorities. The resulting facility features the basic program of a regional YMCA including a full-size gymnasium, wellness floor, two aerobics group fitness rooms, an indoor track, locker rooms, an outdoor aquatics center, and an athletics field with a shelter structure.

The building also includes a 503-student elementary school with 32 classroom spaces for grades PK-5, a media center, a commercial kitchen, administrative student support spaces and outdoor play areas. To address stakeholders’ desire for increased grade level identity, the design team created collaborative break out common areas that function as “living rooms” for each grade level cohort, establishing their identities as small learning communities. The use of glazing within each common area provides transparency, aids passive supervision, and instills a sense of connectivity within the grade level community.

The building’s architectural concept positions the facility as a beacon to the Southeast Raleigh community through a proud display of the diverse activities practiced within its walls. The primary east elevation on Rock Quarry Road is centrally anchored by an unobstructed view of the two-story shared space between the YMCA and the elementary school to the internal courtyard beyond. The building overlooks Rock Quarry Road so the main elevation’s bold colors claim the street, making the structure easily visible and providing interior views from all street fronts through its sizable windows. The U-shaped floor plan helps break down the building’s visual mass and provides a welcoming courtyard for its true main entrance, which is on the protected interior of the site adjacent to parking and student drop-off points.

A generous courtyard space is located on the west side of the building and offers unique experiences for the entire campus community. The pool house and aquatic center are located along a main pedestrian promenade that leads visitors to a shared entry to the main building. A play space dedicated to students during the day and YMCA visitors after hours is delineated by an undulating picket fence which is softened by native grass plantings and groupings of reclaimed boulders. The play space is intended to engage users of all ages with amenities such as a reading garden, orchard, reclaimed log steppers, a water pump, a performance stage, and a community garden. A story time terrace, complete with sculptures from Charlotte’s Web, provides an additional dynamic engagement space adjacent to the media center. At the end of the courtyard is a pedestrian spine that is separated from vehicular traffic and leads to the play areas intended for older age groups, as well as the multi-purpose field and outdoor classroom space.

The building features centrally located spaces to be shared by both the YMCA and the elementary school including an approximately 5,000 SF double-height space that can be subdivided during the school day into a cafeteria and gym-like play space. After school, the multi-purpose space is used by the YMCA, which supports weekday youth programs and track-out functions. The YMCA has all-day access to this space on weekends and during the school’s summer vacation. This space also fronts an elevated performing arts stage that can be used by the school, the YMCA, or local community groups. Additionally, four classrooms and a shared community kitchen on the second floor of the school’s side of the building are accessible to the YMCA for after-hours use. The community kitchen is used to provide healthy eating demonstrations and cooking classes to community members during the evening.

The inclusion of a campus swimming pool gives students and community members the opportunity to learn how to swim and engage with their community through a shared activity. It also provides community youth with the opportunity to learn to swim at a young age and contributes to the breaking of institutional barriers that have persisted for generations. The pool is heated to allow use from February-November, and every child who attends the Southeast Raleigh Elementary School will learn to swim by the time they graduate from fifth grade.

The building’s sustainable features include a cistern that captures rainwater from the pool house roof, reclaimed water to irrigate the playfield, a green roof with multiple educational garden plots above the pre-K suite, and within the building, ample access to outdoor views and natural daylighting. Low-emitting and regionally sourced materials were used throughout the facility. Other features and amenities include an occupied roof terrace/garden to be used as an educational space for the elementary school, afterhours access to the school’s media center as a community resource, and a shared and flexible suite approach to the pre-K’s Head Start certified program.