Redmond, Wash. — Students at the new Rosa Parks Elementary School may never board the kind of bus once ridden by the famous civic rights symbol after whom the school is named. In fact, it doesn’t even have a traditional school bus stop.

Designed to meet the interests of an environmentally committed neighborhood on Redmond Ridge, the school is connected to nearby homes by a series of walking and bicycle trails. Every day volunteers meet students at set times at designated points along the trails for a “walking bus” trip to the school. Students can join at the starting points or anywhere along the route.

The 65,000 square-foot, one- and two-story facility comprises three wings of classrooms featuring abundant natural day lighting and views onto open courtyards between the wings. A two-story gallery connects the three wings, and two are linked by a sky bridge that looks down into the commons.

“The design recalls the simplicity of national park architecture in its clean shapes, sloped shed roofs, large view-oriented windows, Douglas fir ceilings, and natural colors of deep brown and charcoal gray,” said Mitchell Kent, project manager for Mahlum Architects. Mt. Rainier can be seen from the second floor activity areas.

Designed to accommodate up to 550 students, the building has 24 standard classrooms, five shared instructional spaces, two shared resource rooms for art and music, and four rooms for kindergarten. One wing houses kindergarten through second grade, the second grades three and four and the third grades five and six.

 “The rhythm of the courtyards between the wings reduces the scale of the building,” Kent noted. “The gallery connecting them allows visitors to look through the school to the large windows at the other end.”

Modeled in part on the Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, which has won numerous awards for its eco-friendly architecture, the school has operable windows, wooden wall panels, classroom carpet tiles that can be recycled, polished concrete floors and rubber flooring in resource areas that can be easily cleaned. Non-toxic paints were used throughout.

Classrooms are wired for Internet use and equipped with interactive whiteboards that allow teachers and students to directly access the Internet and engage digital learning skills.

The school has been designed for public use by the Redmond Ridge community, part of the Lake Washington School District. The library, commons and gymnasium are all accessible after hours, and as the largest public building in the neighborhood, the structure has become an important community asset.

The planning process began in 2003 with a public workshop attended by people living in the 900-home community, which had already established neighborhood design standards that called for pocket parks, large swaths of green belts and undisturbed forests connected by walking trails. The standards seek a “national park ambiance” that features natural materials, colors and plantings.

“Those participating in the design discussions had strong feelings about the need for the school to be integrated into the community and sensitive to the national park concept,” Kent said.

Although there is an area for a bus to stop for field trips, the school is not normally serviced by buses, and students are encouraged to walk or bicycle to school. There is a large Park and Ride about one-quarter mile from the school that can be used for community meetings at the school.

The school opened in September 2006 and dedicated in December in ceremonies that commemorated the 50th anniversary of Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her seat at the front of a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, Ala. in the mid-1950s. A subsequent boycott of buses by African Americans spearheaded by the Rev. Martin Luther King led to desegregation in the United States and Parks became a national symbol of civil rights.

Construction cost was just under $13 million and the builder was Spee West. Other project team members included Coughlin Porter Lundeen, civil and structural engineering; Coffman Engineers, electrical; Stantec, Inc. mechanical, and Weisman Design Group, landscape architect.

Mahlum Architects, founded in 1938, is a firm of 100 people with offices in Seattle and Portland. The firm is committed to creating enduring architecture that enriches the human experience.

Lake Washington School District is a high-performing school district in Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish, Wash. It is the sixth largest district in the state with more than 23,000 students in 48 schools.