At Thrive, we work with you to develop learning environments that are flexible and future-proof, yet perfectly suited to your educational specifications. We’re well-versed in today’s teaching paradigms and help lead your team to solutions that are fresh, dynamic, and well-adapted to the 21st century learner.
At Thrive, we work with you to develop learning environments that are flexible and future-proof, yet perfectly suited to your educational specifications. We’re well-versed in today’s teaching paradigms and help lead your team to solutions that are fresh, dynamic, and well-adapted to the 21st century learner.
Alexandria Public Schools
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Eric Taylor and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Eric Taylor and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Eric Taylor and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Eric Taylor and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Eric Taylor and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Sam Kittner and VMDO Architects
The Jefferson-Houston PK-8 School, built in the shadow of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, is one of just four “failing” schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the state prepared to take over operation of the school, the APS administration committed to building this ambitious new facility in which students follow an International Baccalaureate curriculum. The school and the school design focus on the whole child, and simultaneously offer universal design features that support the school’s large population of multiple-disability children.
The design team inspired and designed a first-of-its-kind food service model that prepares school food centrally and delivers fresh food to each classroom pod, allowing students to dine in their own multi-purpose extended learning areas. The school and school grounds also serve this urban community’s extensive need for indoor and outdoor shared-use facilities.
Architect of Record Steve Davis, with VMDO Architects
Charlottesville City Schools
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of the City of Charlottesville
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography and VMDO Architects
This renovation of four middle school science classrooms transformed an out-of-date and dark part of the building into a brighter and healthier educational environment that inspires students and staff while providing the spaces and tools to support the school’s evolving engineering curriculum and Next Generation Science Standards. The design orients permanent fixtures along the classroom perimeters and utilizes rapidly-reconfigurable furnishings for teacher stations and collaborative work areas.
Architect of Record Steve Davis, with VMDO Architects
Building Goodness Foundation
This new school for an American-based non-profit working in Hinche, Haiti will provide classrooms for children in grades 1 through 9. The site is adjacent to an existing orphanage compound and will share resources with those buildings which are operated by the same non-profit. The school is divided into multiple buildings and thereby keeps children in clusters of similarly-aged peers while also facilitating the construction phasing process. The proposed buildings wrap the edge of gentle plateau and frame two enormous Mango trees, around which local children frequently gather.
Resiliency planning provides for passive survivability of the complex and ensures that the new buildings can endure seismic events, tropical deluges, and hurricane-force windspeeds.
Project Architect Steve Davis, for Building Goodness Foundation
Virginia Commonwealth University
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
The Pollak Building Green Roof was the first green roof on the Monroe Park Campus and helped VCU satisfy the overwhelming student demand for more visible sustainability initiatives. The terrace maximizes the code-allowable occupiable area to provide a natural respite from the severe architecture of the Brutalist art school building. The plantings are organized to demonstrate three different types of green roof—sedum, meadow, and native. For the native section, the team worked with a green roof horticulturalist to identify a wide array of Virginia natives that were suitable for the harsh sun-baked and wind-driven environment.
Architect of Record VMDO Architects | Steve Davis, Lead Designer
Functional Literacy Ministry
Image Courtesy of VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Clare van Montfrans
Image Courtesy of Clare van Montfrans
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography
Image Courtesy of VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Tom Daly Photography
This trade school serves a growing need in the mountaintop community of Thomassin, Haiti. The school was chartered after the earthquake to teach construction trades and basic business skills to the local workforce. The design uses locally available materials and local craftsman (such as decorative welders) to create a signature building in the community which simultaneously reflects a contemporary aesthetic and Haitian building traditions.
Architect of Record VMDO Architects | Steve Davis, Lead Designer
George Mason University
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
Image Courtesy of Ansel Olson and VMDO Architects
This term-contract summer project included the renovation of one floor in an existing academic building. All classrooms were upgraded with current technologies and new finishes. An aging computer lab was converted into a new student commons, and two classrooms were combined into a single multi-use maker space.
Architect of Record VMDO Architects | Steve Davis, Lead Designer
