Our Lady of the Assumption School Expansion
Connecting a rapidly developing community.
The Palmetto Library is a new, $3.5M facility serving the communities of Palmetto and Chattahoochee Hills in South Fulton County. At 11,300 SF, the facility delivers much needed public library services to a largely rural but rapidly developing region of Georgia.
Programmatically, the library consists of four primary areas: an adult’s resource area; a children’s resource area; staff workspaces; and a public meeting space. As we began design, we took deep inspiration from local vernacular structures, especially their material presence and fit with the land. As we began considering our design and its response to the local terrain and climate, we chose barns as a befitting formal archetype to explore. What intrigued us was how we could provide a structure that was both familiar and unfamiliar to people visiting.
The library sits in a three acre, gently sloping site just outside of downtown Palmetto. The site design recalls pecan groves in the area by planting a grid of trees that tie the building and parking together.
Client
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School and Catholic Construction Services
Location
Atlanta, GA
Status
Completed
Size
23,900 SF
Project Team
Hank Houser, Andrew Owens, Jennifer Lewis
Collaborators
Johnson, Spellman & Associates, Westside
Engineering, Breedlove Land Planning, Sedki and
Russ, Shear Structural
Tags
Academic, Religious, Adaptive Reuse
The expansion of the school included a new infill building that now serves as the main entry and cornerstone of an intuitive, secure, and accessible flow to all levels of the school. This infill building includes an elevator, an open stair, administrative support spaces, a small gathering space, and a S.T.R.E.A.M classroom.
“The final results significantly exceeded my expectations. Our new, beautiful building not only enabled us to increase enrollment but also has improved the overall functionality of the campus. Hank and Andrew listened to our whole team and were a joy to work with. I’d recommend Houser Walker to anyone.”
– Lisa Cordel, OLA Catholic School Principal
“The final results significantly exceeded my expectations. Our new, beautiful building not only enabled us to increase enrollment but also has improved the overall functionality of the campus. Hank and Andrew listened to our whole team and were a joy to work with. I’d recommend Houser Walker to anyone.”
– Lisa Cordel, OLA Catholic School Principal
