South Shore School

Constructed by Graham, the new building has maintained its communal roots by remaining attached to the Rainier Beach Community Center. Collectively, they all serve as a larger educational and community-use campus, providing a unique space for connection and unification while emphasizing personalized learning. The new South Shore School has the capacity to accommodate up to
1,000 students.

This entire facility consists of over 139,000 sf of structural steel and concrete construction with masonry veneer and metal siding panels. The school is a two-story structure with a third story at the east wing. The buildings consist of a child care center, classrooms, a commercial grade kitchen, 10,000 sf gymnasium, library, stage, and a large radial common area which ties all three wings together. South Shore’s sustainable features include a green roof at the school’s entrance, optimized day-light with photocell-controlled lighting in all occupied spaces, a displacement ventilation system, and nontoxic, recycled-content building materials and finishes, all contributing to a high-performance healthy school.