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District hears Somerville’s Westside Elementary plans emphasizing single-story pods, natural light and renewable energy
Summary
Somerville Architects presented schematic designs for the new Westside Elementary on the Kennedy site, highlighting a single-story pod layout for accessibility, clerestory and interior glazing to increase natural light, geothermal heating and rooftop solar, and separate bus and parent drop-off loops. The board asked about ROI, traffic and flexibility; designers said bids and final budgets will follow.
The Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education on Nov. 25 reviewed schematic designs from Somerville Architects for the new Westside Elementary to be built on the Kennedy Elementary site, emphasizing safety, accessibility and energy efficiency.
"We're really excited and want to just thank you for entrusting our team in designing the new elementary school," said Melanie Parma, senior vice president and education studio leader at Somerville. She and colleagues Duane Grove and Dan Wheaton walked the board through a single-story, grade-level "pod" plan aimed at keeping all students on one level and improving accessibility.
Designers said the building will group grade-level classrooms into secure pods with shared flexible learning spaces, sensory rooms and lockers. The design uses clerestory windows and interior borrowed-light glazing so interior spaces receive natural light. "We'll fit about 26 cars along there," Duane Grove said when describing a horseshoe parent drop-off lane; designers also proposed a separate bus loop off 7th Street to reduce mixed traffic.
Somerville described energy features including a geothermal bore field and rooftop photovoltaic cells as part of a pathway toward long-term carbon goals. Board members pressed for performance data; designers said monitoring of recently completed projects is underway but that it is early to quantify return on investment. The design team and district staff said the schematic intentionally leaves room for flexibility — extra classrooms in pods and adaptable core spaces — so the facility can respond to changing enrollment and community needs.
Board members raised operational concerns: one asked whether windows would open for natural ventilation during unusual events. "These windows will not open," a district presenter stated, explaining the choice was driven by indoor-air-quality management and safety/security recommendations.
The architects noted site-specific decisions intended to be sensitive to the single-family neighborhood, with brick, stone and metal-panel accents and massing scaled down where the gym meets the street. They also described secure visitor access (a buzz-in vestibule), community-room doors programmed for after-hours use, and space for on-site mental and dental clinic access.
Next steps, designers said, include refining the design per community input, preparing construction documents and issuing bid packages; the team expects construction to begin in 2025 with the facility ready for the 2026–27 school year. "We'll gather the input from our community sessions, this meeting, as well as any other input that we receive," Somerville said.
The presentation follows voter approval of a 2024 referendum that the district is now preparing to finance and build out in phases.
