Winner: 2024 Honor Award for General Design from the PA-DE Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy is a public charter school managed by the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) Foundation and located in Allegheny West, a historically black neighborhood in North Philadelphia. Surrounded by rowhomes and industrial development, the project site spans a city block and includes a three-story brick school building (built in 1913), two small schoolyard areas, and a large parking lot. This community and its urban fabric have suffered from post-industrial decline, and decades of municipal disinvestment. The project involved adaptive reuse of the historic school building, as well as renovation of the site for use by 300+ students in grades 5-8. SALT led design of the sitework, which incorporated spaces for play, learning, recreation, gathering, and staff parking within a broader framework for sustainable development. Through engagement with KIPP stakeholders, a vision emerged to represent KIPP’s values of Joy, Care, Resilience, Excellence, and Activism through a series of overlapping, flexible outdoor rooms that invite play, learning and togetherness. Each design gesture in these two small schoolyards is intentional, precise, and multi-functional.
The design transforms the entirely paved site into a welcoming and green schoolyard that integrates opportunities for play and outdoor education. The scope includes design for two separate spaces within the site. A large space at the front of the building provides a series of outdoor learning spaces woven within a larger playspace. The courtyard in the rear of the building creates an exterior lounge for teachers and students and includes picnic tables, a basketball half-court, and an entrance garden leading to a new elevator addition to provide accessibility within the building.
The entire site was developed to sustainably manage stormwater. Rain gardens and bioswales surround the perimeter of the parking lot to collect and manage stormwater from the adjacent paved surfaces. Pervious pavements, including rubber safety surface and unit paving, allow water to infiltrate in place, reducing the load on the City sewer system.
Collaborators: KSS Architects, Ruggiero Plante Land Design
Photography: © Jeffrey Totaro, 2023.