Robert P. Madison International Inc. was awarded this important neighborhood school project in Dayton, Ohio in 2005. RPMI provided architectural and engineering services for the 73,140 square foot combined elementary and middle schools. The Ruskin PK-8 School design concepts were developed with significant neighborhood interaction and input. The University of Dayton Fitz Center for Leadership in Community staff coordinated and worked closely with the East End Community Center to arrange a series of neighborhood reviews and planning sessions that shaped the building form and interior design concepts.

RPMI was faced with a teaching philosophy change by the Dayton Public School system just before the Design Development Submittal. The school district wished to reorganize the school into 3 distinct learning communities, each organized around its own extended learning area. RPMI managed to redesign the building in two weeks with no added cost to the Owner.

Ruskin PK-8 is located in the Twin Towers District, aptly named for the impressive towers at St. Mary's Church. The neighborhood felt the school design should build upon this concept, and a domed cupola was developed as a centerpiece of the composition. A light-filled, two story atrium and tall arched windows continue the uplifting exterior design into the interior.

In the main entrance, the eye is caught by a view of the historic 1`884 Ruskin School bell displayed in the atrium. Behind the bell is a 16-foot tall photo montage of the original Ruskin School design, along with historic photos of early Ruskin Classrooms and students. History and pride in their school building over the decades is important to the local neighborhood and has been incorporated as a major interior design feature.

Since Ruskin PK-8 school was designed to house neighborhood functions, there is a clear wayfinding path as a visitor enters the school under the towering domed cupola. Inside the main lobby, the art room, media center, auditoria and gymnasium are all located in close proximity down the major corridor that organizes the first floor. second floor classrooms are readily visible from the open entry stairway and through the two-story lobby. The two-story scheme allows a very compact, efficient design that fits well on a tight site and still allows ample room for playgrounds, a baseball diamond and an outdoor basketball court.

The school is a shining example of what can be accomplished when the school district enters into a meaningful partnership with the local community to design a school that specifically meets both of their needs and visions. 

Size: 73,140 square feet

Cost: $10,091,270

Completed: 2008

Robert P Madison and our design teams involvement does not begin and end with the design of the building and site. At Ruskin PK-8 we gladly participated in CEFPI's School Building Day by donating a revised landscape design to accommodate additional planting that RPMI donated money for the purchase. Not only did the school receive additional landscaping but the children each received a plant to take home.