Clark Nexsen Principal, Donna Francis and the Laurel Park Elementary School project were recently featured in the cover story highlighting adaptive reuse facilities in School Planning & Management magazine’s June issue. The article explores the conversion of existing buildings to solve the growing problem of K-12 schools rapidly expanding and the lack of available land for new facilities.Laurel Park Elementary School is a 900-student school crafted from a renovation of an existing pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Apex, North Carolina. The existing structure was completely gutted, leaving only the structural frame, exterior walls with metal panels, roof systems, cooling tower, and boiler. Two floors of classroom and group spaces (library, dining, and multipurpose) now fill spaces that were once high-bay warehouse areas. The project won an AIA South Atlantic Region Honor Award, an AIA North Carolina Merit Award, and an AIA Triangle Honor Award.
