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Atrium of Powell Elementary School. Photo © ISTUDIO Architects

from noses-in-the-books, but the garden spaces are also designed
to double as classrooms, also quite different from enclosed rooms.
A large raised patio beside the main playground is designed for
outdoor teaching areas of a variety of sizes.
Schneider views the sustainable design aspects of the building
as a tool for differentiated learning: seeing passive systems at work
opens doors to a range of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math) investigations. Students’ curiosity, he thinks, is piqued
by the louvers on the façades of the new wings: horizontal on the
south-facing façade, vertical over the west-facing glass of the
library and cafeteria, and nonexistent at the north façade facing
Upshur Street. “Why are there louvers in some places but not
others? Why are they different?” Schneider imagined the children
wondering. “Maybe a few students think the solar chimneys are
stupid, but most of them think they’re cool.”
The atrium, along with a small suite of spaces including the
entrance lobby and a small auditorium in the 1929 building, can
be locked off from the other wings, which allows for community
functions in off hours. “DCPS realizes that its schools, especially
the elementary schools, become community spaces,” said
Schneider. “They have come to embrace this role as a way of
supporting the students and their families.” Outdoor terrace off of the library.
Powell’s student population is far from wealthy, and this has
ramifications for design and layout. There are separate computer physically growing and morphing to meet current needs. Those
labs for adults and children, recognizing that many of the families interpretations are correct, but they’re also the tip of an iceberg
do not have computers at home. There are also “wellness rooms” that few are aware of. The sun louvers, for instance, aren’t just for
for both children and adults—the adults’ room is primarily for show: Powell was designed to achieve Gold certification in the
breastfeeding. Because as many as half of the children come from LEED for Schools program (certification is pending—the review
homes where food is scarce, the cafeteria serves three meals a day. process can be lengthy).
The public area includes a space where adults can change clothes Powell now serves about 550 students, twice the population
and clean themselves, which eases the burden on parents who of only a decade ago. As a public school, it cannot specialize the
may be coming from or going to not-so-clean jobs in construction or way charter and private schools often do. Moreover, its mandate
restaurants. Or they may be on a brief break between two different includes all children, so it accommodates many ESL students, some
jobs when picking up children, and need to change uniforms. There disabled students, and others with special needs. In the middle of
are also evening classes for adults, primarily but not exclusively the design process, DC became one of the earlier cities to mandate
ESL (English as a Second Language). gender-neutral bathrooms, which were incorporated into the project.
Drivers on busy 14th Street, NW, mostly notice the dramatic ISTUDIO’s architecture is inseparable from the greatest things
white louvers of the west and south wings. There is an immediate about Powell: integrated social programs allow children to learn,
reading of modernity, of a school and school system that may face freed from basic worries like hunger, while differentiated learning
challenges but that have bold aspirations for the future. The Upshur spaces provide a best place for each child’s learning style.
Street facades’ various eras reflect the fact that the school is

18 BREATH OF FRESH AIR