Chapin Middle School
Lexington Richland School District Five
Chapin, SC
Completed
Phase I: 2015 / Phase II: 2018
Project Awards
2020 Merit Award
AIA South Carolina
2018 Merit Award
AIA Columbia
2017 Honor Award
Association for Learning Environments
Chapin Middle School moves well beyond the traditional “factory school” model to create a true 21st-century learning environment, with collaboration and community shaping the plan. Designed for 1,200 students, the 160,000-square-foot school organizes into three smaller academic communities within the whole and offers a range of flexible settings for project-based learning.
A central two-story spine, the academic “main street,” draws natural light from above and gives visual access to the entire school, linking the wellness and arts components to the classroom wings and clearly separating public and administrative functions. Each of the three academic wings organizes around a daylit core of flexible collaborative space and opens onto a secure exterior courtyard that extends learning outdoors. The program also includes comprehensive wellness and arts components, a state-of-the-art media center, and a full range of specialized science and arts classrooms. The school is designed in collaboration with Perkins&Will K-12 Studio.
