gee, do you think we could do something a little plainer, less flashy? i’d hate for the kids to get distracted by such a dazzling display. how about something that screams, “government building?”

Would it be possible to take the “ugly” requirement out of the specs?

I’m sorry, I’m not enamored of that depiction. It more closely resembles a prison than a school.

Larry, isn’t that what school is for kids? I’ll be here all week.

Seriously, I don’t think the renderings match the plans. There is no rendering of the fabric canopy. The covered walkway shows circle openings in it, but none of that shows up on the plans. They don’t seem to match. I know it is early, but that is kind of embarrassing.

This building is excellent.

I love the way the building sits right on the corner of Sheridan and Walker (not set back from it) with lots of glass looking out to that intersection.

And the gated courtyard/play areas are awesome. So is the unloading area with covered walk on Dewey (set off with the sculpture/public area right on the corner).

Cheers to the architects on this. I don’t think I’ve seen anything better in downtown OKC. Totally forward looking. And as Steve will tell you, I never have anything nice to say about anything.

The kids and their families will be lucky to attend this school.

You guys,

I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or what? These plans look really good to me. It is a School, a multi-story urban school house. I see no prison at all. It does have a plain play yard but other than that it looks great. Compare these plans with a school in Chicago or New York and I think you’ll see some similarities but also improvements. Urban? Isn’t that what the people of OKC wanted?

functionality with absolutely no ornamentation is the hallmark of government buildings in the modern era. somehow, a requirement that state projects contain a small percentage devoted to “art” has resulted in some remarkable bridges being erected in recent years, such as the one over i-35 at robinson in norman, and the one on the turner turnpike (hwy 102) near wellston. we have seen politicians decry these “frills” as a needless waste.

would anyone be satisfied with a new state capitol that had the kind of aesthetics as this? if not, why is it good enough for the schoolkids but not for the legislature and governor? i know that this is being built by the okc school district and not the state, but look just a few blocks away where the new ocu law school is going…in the old central high school building. i can assure you, people had a LOT less money to spare back then as a percentage of their budgets than we do today, yet we insist on the “brick block” look for government buildings. there are aging school buildings all over the city that have considerably more personality than this, and they have certainly served to educate students, as WELL as promoting a spirit of pride and dignity in the community. the much maligned new kevin durant restaurant had much more eye appeal in the first draft than this does.

functionality is great, but cheap budgets show for decades. we can do better.