International

The multi-school 13,000-m² (140,000-sf) Središće Educational Complex consists of a new 6,000-m² (65,000-sf) building for the American International School of Zagreb designed by Flansburgh, as well as a Croatian kindergarten and a Croatian elementary school designed by Sangrad + AVP. With a shared vision of an elegant, highly structured scheme that resonates with its urban context and reflects the educational priorities of each school, Flansburgh and Sangrad + AVP jointly won the international competition hosted by the City of Zagreb to design the new educational precinct. After award of the competition, Flansburgh engaged AISZ and continued to refine the design with the school’s input.

The new High School is a bold and forward-looking approach to education and the environment. The LEED-Certified, 7-story open air structure doubles academic space while maximizing green space and providing state-of-the-art facilities that support 21st Century education. Bright colors, sculptural forms, natural materials, and crisp design are inspired by Guadalajara’s cultural heritage.

Drawing from Mexico’s cortile buildings, courtyards, and public sculptures, the design embraces the city’s architectural history and fosters a strong sense of community. The project connects classrooms to outdoors, incorporating lush green space and utilizing Guadalajara’s climate in its sustainable design. Native plantings are deployed strategically, using water-intensive plants sparingly. Sustainability is integrated in all aspects of the building’s design and construction process, focusing on daylighting, solar control, passive cooling, thermal mass, shading, and natural ventilation.

Students can connect, reflect, restore, and energize in outdoor classrooms, garden balconies, and rooftop terraces. Ultimately the project is a distinctive, location-based, sustainable, learning environment that celebrates its place in a fast-growing city.

Flexible academic spaces support the school’s varied teaching and learning styles. Indoor classrooms have acoustical wood panels and glass walls, establishing verbal and visual connections between students and faculty in and outside the classroom.

Saigon South International School is an independent college preparatory school for K-12 students from over 40 countries grounded in a spirit of inquiry. This project involves two new buildings, a Middle School and STEAM Design Center.

The two buildings are thoughtfully positioned on opposite sides of an expansive athletic field and green space. Their architecture complements one another with light colors and undulating curves that interact harmoniously with their gridded structure. Planters, inspired by the terraced rice fields of Sa Pa, accentuate the curvature of the facility, cascade with native species, provide visual interest, and break up the building plane. The dynamic interplay of these elements is accentuated when the wind or rain introduces movement to the lush greenery. The interiors of the atria feature bamboo that upholds a commitment to local aesthetics and sustainability, and capture daylight. Levels of the building serve as metaphorical branches extending to exterior garden balconies and ultimately to the river, fostering a seamless connection between educational spaces and nature.

The Middle School is designed for students in grades 6-8, with their emotional, creative, and physical growth in mind. Skylit atria encourage collaboration and a sense of belonging. Bright, daylit, open spaces encourage hands-on learning and foster students’ experimentation. They include a 220 sqm black box theater, dance room, classrooms, science labs, breakout rooms and maker spaces. The library is a community hub for research and exploration while the gymnasium offers opportunities for physical activities, team sports, and community-building events.

The STEAM Design Center includes five science labs, two art rooms, independent art studios, a 3D art and printmaking room, and an indoor/outdoor art gallery. The Center provides opportunities for high school students to explore their creativity, kindle their passions, and develop essential future-ready skills in a transparent, highly flexible, cross-disciplinary learning environment.

As part of the master plan prepared by Flansburgh Architects, the new 15,000-sf Aquatic Center features a 6-lane, 82-foot pool with an additional shallow teaching pool as well as enclosed changing areas, office areas, storage space, and mechanical room. This naturally ventilated outdoor pavilion was completed in the Fall of 2012.

Colegio Maya is a co-educational day school offering an international education program for students in Pre-K through 12th grade. Enrollment is approximately 314 students representing over 20 different nations. It is located on the Carretera El Salvador in the hillside suburbs of Guatemala City on a 3.6-hectare campus filled with trees, flowers and foliage. Flansburgh worked with the school in 2013 to create a long range master plan, and is currently designing the first major project, the 1800 sq.m. (19,375 sf) Innovation Hub. This transformational building envisioned by the school’s director would engage students in the three stages of innovation: conceptualizing, researching, and designing; prototyping, creating and modeling; and presenting, launching, and marketing.

Acoustics, function and aesthetics work in harmony to produce a beautiful result at the new 525-seat theatre at the American International School of Johannesburg. Part of the master plan Flansburgh created for the school in 2011, the theatre includes a scene shop, dressing rooms, storage areas, and front-of-house support spaces.

International College (IC) is an independent international school for 2,400 students grades PreK-12 in Beirut, Lebanon. After completing a comprehensive master plan for the school’s 4-hectare (10-acre) main campus, Flansburgh implemented the phased plan for campus expansion through designing a new elementary school building and a new combined facility for IC’s preschool and middle school, both of which have been completed, in addition to the ongoing renovation of the campus’s historical Sage Hall.

Chinese International School (CIS) is an independent dual-language day school located in Hong Kong on top of Braemar Hill, a quiet residential area noted for its many schools. CIS’s 2008 Strategic Vision and 2011 School Facilities Review prepared by Flansburgh Architects suggested the development of a collaborative learning center for science, technology and design including labs, studios, classrooms, conference areas, faculty offices and two indoor multi-purpose sports centers that could accommodate 600 to 700 students.

The American Cooperative School of Tunis (ACST) is an international school serving 600 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. During the civil unrest of the Arab Spring in September 2012, the school was attacked, looted, and set on fire by a mob. After developing a master plan for rebuilding the campus, Flansburgh was engaged by the school to rebuild its elementary school.

For Phase 3 of the AISJ Master Plan, Flansburgh Architects designed the new 20,000-sf Treehouse Gymnasium. The building includes a 12,000-sf double gymnasium with locker rooms, a 900-sf weight room, and a 700-sf fitness room. The sweeping, folded roof sits above glass walls allowing ample natural light into each space while the outdoor circulation provides air flow around the main rooms.

The new 750-student elementary school located on the main campus of International College in Beirut, Lebanon replaces an existing elementary school located off campus. The 180,000-sf facility includes a 60,000-sf bus and parking garage and new central plant that will serve the entire campus. The scheme arranges three limestone-clad buildings, connected together at the lowest level, around outdoor courtyards, stairways, and rooftop playgrounds. This arrangement diminishes the project's size and knits it into the fabric of the surrounding campus. It is the first LEED building in Lebanon, certified LEED Gold.

Flansburgh Architects' Phase 1 project at the American Embassy School in New Delhi introduces a multi-faceted campus upgrade featuring a new state-of-the-art Wellness and Aquatic Center alongside an expanded, renovated high school. The initial phase also delivers a retrofit dining facility and a brand-new athletic field, dramatically improving both student life and physical education infrastructure. Designed to blend high-performance learning spaces with the compound's lush tropical setting, this transformation sets the benchmark for the school's ongoing master plan.