Blanche A. Ames Elementary School in Easton. (Photo courtesy Perkins Eastman)
EASTON — Superintendent Dr. Lisha Cabral is pleased to share that Easton Public Schools’ Blanche A. Ames Elementary School has been awarded the Learning By Design Grand Prize Award for 2024.
Blanche A. Ames Elementary School is a new-construction, state-of-the-art early elementary facility that opened in January 2023. It combined the Town’s three elementary schools into one.
The school’s project architect, Perkins Eastman, submitted Blanche A. Ames Elementary School into Learning By Design Magazine’s Fall 2024 Architectural & Interior Design Awards contest. The school falls into the new construction, 100,000-square-foot early childhood/elementary school category.
The Grand Prize Award is the highest level of recognition from Learning By Design.
“I really enjoyed all of the universal design elements: sensory courtyard, tactile elements, the themed corridors,” one of the judges said of the school’s design, as published in Learning By Design Magazine. “Very nicely done. I loved the activity in every corridor, and the sense of wonder in the interior design. This was complemented by really wonderful outdoor play areas with a natural approach.”
Blanche A. Ames Elementary School is purposely divided into classroom “neighborhoods” to keep the scale of the school small for the Town’s youngest learners, and each wing is named based on a theme of Easton’s history. Grade levels are also represented by colors and themes — such as a purple space motif or yellow tractor design — and “footprints” can be found on the floors throughout the building to help direct young learners who may be pre-readers or have difficulty with wayfinding or spatial recognition. In addition, hallways include cutouts where students can sit, small-scale bathrooms and sinks, handrails of various heights, window sills that are low to the ground, and low-hung whiteboards.
Many other features throughout the school are designed specifically for universal accessibility, and the entire building and grounds are 100% accessible regardless of age, size, capacity, or ability. For example, all classrooms are equipped with an auditory amplification system for those with auditory challenges, and every sign includes Braille and “Dyslexie Font,” with letters weighted heavier on the bottom to facilitate reading. A universally accessible ramp connects the first and second floors in addition to the elevators so that classrooms of small children, regardless of need, can travel together throughout the building easily and safely. The outdoor courtyard and playground areas provide similar access for all.
Many design features are a nod to the school’s namesake. Biographical information about Blanche Ames’ life, including her architectural skills, inventions, suffragette efforts, and botanical research is on the walls of the ramp. Ames was well-known for her drawings of orchids and the large cafeteria also features an orchid wall.
“We are thrilled to receive notification of this recognition from Learning By Design Magazine,” Superintendent Cabral said. “Perkins Eastman did an incredible job on the building and we couldn’t be more excited to see the firm recognized for their work. We are very proud of this school and what it offers to the children and families of Easton, and we are exceedingly grateful to the residents for their investment in this project that will serve the community for many decades to come.”
The Easton elementary school designed by Perkins Eastman was also recently recognized with an IIDA New England Design Award, winning the Education K-12 category. The project received high praise from the judges, noting the space’s attention to detail and joyfulness.
Blanche A. Ames Elementary School also recently received a Project of Distinction award in the A4LE 2024 Regional Design Awards (Northeast Region).
“Much of the success of the Blanche A. Ames Elementary School project is due in large part to the collaboration between the Easton Public Schools and our Perkins Eastman design team,” Perkins Eastman Associate Principal Dawn Guarriello said. “As a client, the District was always open to our ideas and willing to work with us to create a school that is unique to their town and their Pre-K-to-2 learners. From the beginning, our goal was to provide an environment that would engage these youngest learners in a journey of play and learning equally. We are eternally grateful for the opportunity to work with Easton and to celebrate Blanche A. Ames and the many generations of students in Easton who will travel the trail that she paved.”
###