CAMPUS MASTER PLAN
FOREWORD
A Message from the Head of School
Dear friends,
George School is graced with a beautiful space to live out its mission. As responsible stewards of this campus, we have an obligation to ensure that our use of this land aligns with our community’s goals and values, remains true to our history and legacy, and meets the school’s ever-evolving community and programmatic needs.
Our strategic plan expresses the vision for George School and a framework for how the school plans to direct its resources toward fulfilling that vision. The campus master plan—illustrated in the pages that follow—aligns a vision for the physical development of our campus with our strategic plan. In essence, the master plan ensures that the physical campus will support programmatic needs in ways that best serve our current and future students.
The creation of this plan has been a two-year process that required the commitment and work of representatives from across our campus community. I am grateful to WRT for their partnership in this process, to the steering committee for their dedication to this challenging work, and to all of you who provided thoughtful input through surveys, focus groups, and individual conversations. Thank you.
In friendship,
J. Samuel Houser, Ph.D. Head of School
INTRODUCTION
A Message from the Steering Committee
Dear friends,
The master planning Steering Committee was tasked with guiding the process of creating a long-term campus plan for George School. Partnering with Wallace, Roberts and Todd (WRT) over the past 22 months, the committee worked with community stakeholders to challenge existing thinking and norms regarding the functions and uses of campus buildings and exterior spaces in order to generate fresh ideas and discover new opportunities for modifying and using campus to enrich school programming. An effective master plan must align the physical campus environment with the school’s strategic plan, which outlined the following priority areas:
I. Informed Creativity: Excellent Teaching and Learning. Vision: George School is known for its signature curriculum and teaching excellence.
II. Thrive Locally and Globally. Vision: George School’s students are global citizens who reap the benefits of George School’s diverse and inclusive school community.
III. Celebrate the George School Experience. Vision: George School shares its stories and communicates its value proudly and proactively with new and existing audiences.
IV. Organize for Success, Innovation, and Growth. Vision: George School constantly evaluates its systems, structures, and resources to ensure that it is nimble and poised to act efficiently and effectively.
The vision outlined in the following pages embraces the uniqueness of George School’s campus while valuing the history and spiritual nature of the school. This long-range campus plan is intended to be implemented in phases as fundraising and financing permits.
We are grateful to all of our community members who invested their time in focus groups, town halls, meetings, and conversations in this process. Your investment will have a tremendous impact on the future of George School.
In friendship,
Peter Vari Clerk,
Master
Plan Steering Committee
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
To begin the master planning process, the following priorities were established. A master plan for George School would:
• Protect and enhance the 240-acre campus.
• Align the school’s built environment with the school’s mission, strategic vision, and values.
• Expand and create a more flexible 21st century learning environment.
• Expand outdoor learning opportunities and increase access to the woods, creek, and other elements of the natural environment.
• Improve the campus’s sustainability and resilience.
• Strengthen and promote the sense of community that engages all friends, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and families.
• Continue to honor George School’s traditions and celebrate Quaker values.
The following plan represents a 22 month iterative and collaborative process facilitated by the campus master plan Steering Committee with the support of many members of George School’s community, board, and administration.
Centered on the commitment to providing an exceptional learning environment for approximately 550 day and boarding students in grades 9 through 12, the plan establishes project goals to serve the current community needs while maintaining a keen focus on long-range planning for an optimal learning environment for current and future generations.
Campus Themes and Priorities
Through the engagement process, four areas of focus were identified by the master plan team:
• Reimagine academic spaces to respond to a changing world, accommodate a newly revised curriculum, and expand the student experience.
• Strengthen community through improved community spaces and excellence in student life and dining.
• Enrich the boarding experience with improved residential facilities for students and faculty.
• Foster environmental stewardship through sustainable decisions.
With these areas of focus in mind, the key elements to support the campus master plan are campus shifts, early action projects, major projects and other projects.
PROPOSED LONG-RANGE CAMPUS PLAN
Campus Shifts
Campus shifts, largely philosophical, serve to reframe the way the community envisions and engages with the campus. The plan includes the following campus shifts:
• Reinforce development along the academic walk and solidify an academic quad.
• Consolidate and shift multiple departments into interdisciplinary settings with new construction, additions, and renovations to existing academic buildings.
• Upgrade and renovate to provide universal accessibility on campus.
• Strengthen the residential core by shifting services and delivery away from Main and creating a welcoming residential quad.
• Extend access and awareness to the full acreage of the campus.
• Reframe and reorganize maintenance and parking areas behind Main to present a clear and clean impression.
• Reimagine South Lawn and pedestrian circulation.
Early Action Projects
In order to address current needs and to build momentum for future changes, the following early projects are:
• Installation of new exterior campus signage
• Construction of a new community fire pit
• Dorm common area renovations/new furniture
• Walton Theatre lobby/bathroom renovation
Major Projects
The following major projects reflected in the adjacent graphic are transformative projects that require careful design and planning. These include:
• New academic interdisciplinary building
• New addition and renovation to join Bancroft and Spruance-Alden Science Center, solidifying the academic quad
• New dining/community building and renovation of Marshall
Other Projects
The following projects (not shown on map) have been identified by various constituencies and could be implemented at any point during the master plan as funding becomes available:
• New consolidated maintenance and grounds facilities/upgraded parking areas and access road (shown in adjacent graphic)
• Nature/science pavilion at pond
• Covered equestrian riding ring
• Renovation of Retford for administrative/service office space (to decrease crowding in Main)
• Landscape conversion of portion of South Lawn areas into meadow and natural landscaping
• New geothermal well field (South Lawn)
• New photo voltaic installation (North Site)
• New faculty housing
• Repurpose Sunnybanke
• New head of school residence
• New field pavilion (demolish Alumni Gym)
Foreword
by
J. Samuel Houser, Ph.D., Head of School
by
Peter Vari, Clerk of Steering Committee
1.1 Background
1.2 Vision and Values
1.3 Master Plan Purpose and Process
1.4 Campus Themes
1.1 BACKGROUND
Campus Profile
George School was founded in 1893 with the mission to provide an excellent educational experience grounded in Quaker values. Since then, the school has welcomed students to embrace intellectual pursuits and gain an understanding of their place in the world on its expansive 240-acre campus of rolling lawns and wooded hillsides.
A coeducational boarding and day school for students in grades nine through twelve, George School welcomed approximately 544 students from 44 countries and 20 states for the 2022-2023 academic year. The student body consists of 46% boarding students and 54% day students, and the faculty:student ratio is 1:7 with an average class size of 14 students. George school has an IB Diploma completion rate in the mid-ninetieth percentile, one of the world’s highest.
Located in Newtown, Pennsylvania, George School’s campus falls in both Newtown Township and Middletown Township. The Route 332/Route 413 Newtown Bypass divides a portion of the campus. There is a pedestrian bridge that safely connects the campus. The southern campus borders Neshaminy Creek, and Newtown Creek cuts through the property. A portion of the western part of campus is heavily wooded and natural. It is bisected by an abandoned rail line where the Reading Railroad Newtown line and later the Fox Chase line ran. The rail line was abandoned in 1983.
The George School campus is ringed by a campus road and at the center of campus is the South Lawn which is a prominent campus feature. Buildings on campus are brick and range from one to five stories in height. There are ample athletic fields, tennis courts, an outdoor turf field and track, and an equestrian ring. The campus with its profound natural elements and historic architecture contributes significantly to the sense of community for students and their families, alumni, faculty and staff.
A BRIEF CAMPUS HISTORY AND TIMELINE
1887 John M. George endows George School. John George, the sole survivor of a wealthy Hicksite family, crosses paths with George Maris, who is a vigorous promoter of post-primary education for Hicksite Friends. George Maris and fund-raising companion Edmund Webster (later a member of George School’s Committee) advocate the benefits of creating a secondary boarding school for Hicksite Quakers. John George adds a penciled codicil to his will only seventyfour days before his death on February 11, 1887, committing the bulk of his estate “for the purpose of erecting a boarding school.”
1892 Main building is constructed. The Hicksite Yearly Meeting elects to sell George Fox’s family farm and choose a site elsewhere for the school. The farm’s sale to developers makes George School’s initial endowment 50 percent higher than anticipated— total proceeds are close to $500,000. Proximity to a railroad line is a major consideration in choosing Newtown for the school’s campus. When completed, Main building holds space for classes, housing, and dining. It originally consists of a central section connected to the east and west wings only from the second floor down. An assembly room occupies the second and third floors directly above the dining room, and is the scene of all-school assemblies on weekdays, movies and stage plays on Saturday nights, and meetings for worship on Sunday mornings. The dining room space retains its original use today, though it was enlarged twice as the school grew.
1893 George School opens. The first 155 students arrive at George School, which offers 3 innovative courses of study: Scientific, Classical, and Literary.
1895 Construction of the gym begins. With a focus on developing mind, body, and spirit, George School builds a gym, now known as Marshall Center, for both boys and girls. A swimming pool is added to the west end of the gymnasium in 1911.
1903 Drayton dormitory is constructed. Drayton dormitory is built to house all of the school’s male boarding students.
1906 Retford Science building is constructed. It is the first wholly academic building on campus, housing mostly science classrooms.
1926 George School buys Brown House. Built on George School land by industrial arts teacher Robert G. Brown - the house is sold to George School and used as a faculty residence and dormitory.
1931 Bancroft Hall is built. The second academic building erected, Bancroft holds classrooms and the first school library.
1932 George School makes innovative curriculum changes. Introducing a new curriculum to prepare students to enter advanced courses in Ivy League colleges, class periods double in length and the average class size drops from twenty to fifteen students.
1937 First commencement is held in Penn Auditorium. The ceremonial entrance to the outdoor auditorium, known as the Quaker Walk, is paved with 68 stones collected from Quaker sites in the United States, England, the West Indies, and George School’s first sister schools in Germany.
1949 Hallowell Arts Center is completed. The building provides a dedicated space for many school art programs.
1964 Walton Center opens. With seating for 600, the building seats the entire George School community.
1967 McFeely Library opens. Named for retiring head of school Richard H. McFeely, the building is later renovated as the home of the history department.
1971 Spruance-Alden Science Center opens. A gift of Palin and Helen Spruance and their daughter Mary Spruance-Alden, the building provided modernized science facilities that meet the needs of a doubled enrollment.
1974 Meetinghouse moves to Campus. The 12th Street Meeting House is moved in pieces from center city Philadelphia and reassembled on George School campus.
1977 Largest gift in school history pledged. George School graduate Howard Marshall ’22 and his wife Bettye pledge the largest gift in the school’s history, $2 million, to be used as the school thinks best—and plans are made to renovate the gym and create a community center.
1983 Equestrian program begins. The equestrian program begins on the site of former George School dairy farm.
1985 International Baccalaureate program is offered. George School becomes one of the first independent schools in the country to offer the IB diploma.
1985 Marshall Center is completed. Marshall Center becomes the center of school life. It is the first fully air-conditioned building on George School’s campus. The completion of Marshall Center results in a new orientation of campus roads and vehicle access.
1991 Campbell Dorm built. The first dormitory built since 1903, Campbell is attached to existing faculty housing and initially houses freshman boys.
1993 George School holds a centennial celebration, hosting 2,500 people to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the school.
1995 Westwood Dormitory is built. Modeled after Campbell but housing freshman girls, the new dorms, like Campbell, funded by John and Buffy Campbell, whose three daughters graduated from George School.
George School commissions WRT for Master
2007 Barbara Dodd Anderson makes transformative gift. The charitable lead trust will provide the school with $128.5 million by 2027 and is the largest single gift to an independent school in the United States.
2009 Molly Dodd Anderson Library opens. The LEED Gold facility become the hub of campus academic life.
2014 Fitness and Athletics Center (FAC) caps athletic facilities overhaul. The 100,000-square-foot LEEDcertified center provides state-of-the-art facilities for athletic contests, conditioning, and practice.
2017 George School divests from fossil fuels. A socially-conscious student body moves George School to develop a plan to divest from coal-mining companies, commit to investing in companies that deliver alternative energy solutions, and implement new policies on campus to improve energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
2001
Plan.
2021 George School commissions WRT for Master Plan
1.2 VISION AND VALUES
George School’s Mission
With Quaker tradition as its touchstone and academic excellence at its core, George School seeks to develop citizen scholars cheerfully committed to openness in the pursuit of truth, to service and peace, and to the faithful stewardship of the earth. We want our students to treasure learning for its own sake and above all, we want them to “let their lives speak.”
Vision of George School
In the ever-changing landscape of education, a George School experience will persist in its inventiveness and adaptability to the evolving needs of students, simultaneously constructing lasting pillars for lifelong learning. Those who graduate will emerge as leaders, trailblazers, and catalysts for change on a global scale—individuals of ethical standing who apply their education altruistically across various vocations, industries and professions.
By 2029, George School aims to solidify its status as an academically outstanding and genuinely global institution. The proactive implementation of this strategy establishes the groundwork for the school’s future endeavors—enabling the optimization of enrollment with a diverse array of students who will thrive across all aspects of the institution’s offerings. The progressive curriculum of the school seeks to harmonize science and liberal arts while delving into interdisciplinary and project-oriented educational approaches.The intention of the plan is to establish George School on a solid financial foundation, achieving a balanced budget through strategic initiatives driven by tuition and philanthropic support.
Enduring Commitments
As George School embarks on its next chapter of growth, we endorse our ongoing commitments to the following key principles in both the execution of strategies and day-to-day operations:
• Adhere to the Quaker belief in the unique gifts and value of every individual, the Testimonies, and regular Meeting for Worship.
• Infuse a Quaker ethos throughout George School’s community and ensure the endurance of a Friends education at George School.
• Balance the desirability of decision-making with the need for effective leadership, promoting innovation and risk-taking in the name of institutional improvement
• Lead by promoting innovation and risk-taking in the name of institutional improvement.
• Employ data-driven decision making and regular monitoring of progress toward clearly articulated goals.
• Nourish a diverse and inclusive student and adult community.
• Embrace diverse cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies—and the perspectives they bring to the school—as educational and formational assets for our students and adults alike.
• Steward the environment responsibly.
• Communicate accurately and effectively to all of our audiences about the school, its programs, and its people.
1.2 VISION AND VALUES
PRIORITY AREA I:
Informed Creativity, Excellent Teaching and Learning
Vision: George School is known for its signature curriculum and teaching excellence.
Design and implement a curriculum characterized by informed creativity
• Interdisciplinary learning for all students
• Enhanced science, technology, engineering and math, linked to teaching in the arts
• Inquiry-based learning as a signature pedagogy
• Deep commitment to the IB Diploma program
• Strong and consistent academic and personal advising
• Fitness and athletics program reflecting our commitment to a holistic education
Create a comprehensive professional development program supporting teaching mastery
• Rigorous and supportive teacher evaluation program
• Support for a research-informed and engaged collaborative professional culture
PRIORITY AREA II:
Thrive Locally and Globally
Vision: George School’s students are global citizens who reap the benefits of George School’s diverse and inclusive school community.
Teach the skills to thrive
• Skill development in public speaking, resume crafting, self-advocacy, leadership, collaborative, and conflict resolution
• Support through intentional, focused advising, counseling, and wellness programs
• Continued investment in a robust, fit-focused college counseling program
• Support in realizing student ideas, entrepreneurship and innovation
Engage Locally
• Service, internship, and employment opportunities in the region
• Use of the campus to benefit the local community
Engage Globally
• Global partnerships: Establish partnerships with schools abroad for regular academic exchanges.
• Study Abroad: Develop a variety of pathways for students to study abroad for all or part of an academic year or in the summer.
• Reimagine services learning that prizes local and global engagement.
PRIORITY AREA III:
Celebrate the George School Experience
Vision: George School shares its stories and communicates its value proudly and proactively with new and existing audiences.
Articulate and communicate a value proposition
• Establish brand consistency.
• Enhance brand reach and reputation.
• Use a multi-channel approach to reach target audiences.
Create and implement data-driven marketing program
• Target new markets domestically, while broadening international outreach.
• Dedicate resources to prospective pipelines.
• Diversify international population by enhancing visibility in new and emerging markets.
• Leverage Quaker affiliation.
Celebrate the accomplishments of students and faculty
• Lift up student and faculty accomplishments in timely and effective ways.
• Strategically select and celebrate the accomplishments of young alumni.
• Annually publicize college list and yearly points of pride.
PRIORITY AREA IV:
Organize for Success, Innovation and Growth
Vision: George School constantly evaluates its systems, structures, and resources to ensure that it is nimble and poised to act efficiently and effectively.
Commission a campus master plan
• Identify needs and establish priorities.
• Create modern and flexible academic and creative spaces for community-building.
• Promote excellence and efficiency in operational and administrative management.
• Inventory and assessment of existing databases, data needs, professional development, and technology.
• Development and adoption of efficient data gathering methodologies and education of users of the purpose, rationale, and requirements to create reliable data.
Evaluate decision-making structures and practices
• Ensure shared understanding of Quaker decisionmaking practices.
• Review committee structures.
• Review of staffing needs and competencies and realignment where necessary.
1.3 MASTER PLAN PURPOSE AND PROCESS
What is a Master Plan?
A master plan is a document for long-term planning that provides a conceptual layout to guide future physical growth and development. It includes analysis, recommendations, and proposals for a school’s population, open spaces, housing, buildings, infrastructure, and land use. Master plans help guide schools in their decisions on the physical campus environment.
Master plans are written by design professionals in extensive collaboration with a school. They are approved and adopted by the board of trustees.
Principles, Assumptions and Focus
Building on George School’s Strategic and Financial Sustainability plans, the planning team established a number of guiding principles, assumptions, and areas of focus.
Guiding Principles
• Comply with the Strategic Plan
• Reinforce the school’s mission and priority areas
• Support academic program excellence
• Provide facilities to flexibly support changing goals and design of school curriculum and programs
• Focus on philanthropy
• Support financial sustainability
• Help differentiate George School
• Provide community benefit
• Initiate sustainability measures
Key Assumptions
• The student population will be about 550 students
• The boarding to day student ratio will be 50:50
Areas of Focus
• Strengthening community with better community spaces and excellence in dining
• Creating academic spaces that respond to changing world and curriculum
• Excellent residential facilities for students and faculty
Building Survey and Space Utilization Review
User Group Input
Strategic Priority Development
Develop Space Needs Program
Estimating
Determine Projects and Phasing Priorities
Alternatives
Framework
Preliminary Cost Review Evaluation
1.3 MASTER PLAN PURPOSE AND PROCESS
George School Campus
Community Engagement
The Steering Committee and WRT explored several areas of focus and gathered information from campus observations and engagement sessions with the following stakeholder groups:
• All academic departments: Arts, English, History, Language, Religions, Math, and Science
• All department heads
• Admissions
• Advancement
• Athletics
• Marketing and communications
• Physical Plant staff
• Physical Plan committee
• Aesthetic committee
• Environmental Stewardship Oversight Committee (ESOC)
• Parents
• Board
• School administrative team
Input from Stakeholder Groups
• Advance and support signature academic program and transition from silos to integration.
• New academic spaces on campus (media, longdistance learning, etc.).
• Educational excellence is not a differentiator, it is expected.
• Update Marshall to have lighter, more inviting spaces.
• Expand dining facilities.
• Update dorms with more attractive residential options for both students and faculty/staff.
• “Nostalgia is nice, but sometimes you need to tear down and rebuild - future thinking is important.”
• Need some “quick win” visible upgrades.
• Enhance safety and security.
• Focus on items that advance the strategic mission.
• “Put George School back on the map.”
• Campus needs to work as a small city/community with strong social spaces.
• Enhance sustainable mission, including resiliency.
• Equestrian center serves as community builder.
• “Can we envision 2050 George School campus?”
Campus Engagement Process
Green Infrastructure and Sustainability Goals
This campus master plan continues to support George School’s Mission to be a faithful stewardship of the earth by proposing to:
Reinforce the campus as an integrated living and learning environment
• Increase access to the woods, creek, and other elements of the natural environment
• Develop new outdoor classroom and gathering opportunities
• Transition some of the developed site areas to a more sustainable landscape
• Reduce selected lawn areas to develop transitional meadows and other natural landscapes
• Expand opportunities for green infrastructure (stormwater management, etc.)
Essential components of the master plan are recommendations for new and upgraded campus mechanical and electrical systems and building system upgrades:
Increase the level of sustainability and resilience of the campus buildings, infrastructure, and site
• Reduce the use of fossil fuels (reduce carbon footprint) and increase the use of renewable energy sources
• Consider expanding the use of geothermal and photovoltaic energy systems on campus
• Increase the level of sustainability for both existing and proposed buildings
• Reduce energy and systems needs by increasing the level of performance of the building envelope
• Reduce water needs by integrating rainwater harvesting and other water-saving systems
This campus master plan includes a number of opportunities to advance the above goals. The plan recognizes that these recommendations will have to be re-evaluated over time, as new technologies are becoming available, and balanced with the investments already made in the existing campus infrastructure. Every building, renovation or new construction, and site implementation project provides an opportunity to establish the long-term infrastructure direction and advance some of these goals.
Examples
of Green Infrastructure & Sustainability
1.4 CAMPUS THEMES
Through the engagement process, the following key themes and areas of focus were identified by the master plan team.
• Reimagine academic spaces to respond to a changing world, accommodate a newly revised curriculum, and expand the student experience.
• Strengthen community through improved community, student life and dining experiences.
• Enrich the boarding experience with improved residential facilities for students and faculty.
• Foster Environmental Stewardship through long-term environmental decisions.
Academic
• Expand and create a more flexible learning environment.
• Reinforce development along the academic walk and solidify an academic quad.
• Consolidate and shift multiple departments into interdisciplinary buildings.
• Upgrade and expand the existing academic spaces to create a more integrated learning environment.
• Create more flexible rehearsal/media spaces and opportunities for collaboration between departments.
• Upgrade building systems and furniture systems.
• Address acoustic challenges in older buildings.
Community
• Upgrade and expand shared community spaces: dining, student center, outdoor gathering spaces, athletics and equestrian.
• Upgrade and expand dining, kitchen and servery.
Boarding
• Upgrade and expand student residential options to attract national and international students.
• Larger faculty/staff apartments to attract and retain faculty and staff, including dorm parents.
• Updated common/amenity spaces.
• Update furniture systems in existing residential buildings.
Environment
Given George School’s long-standing commitment to foster environmental commitment, all facets of the master plan should support:
• Protect and enhance the campus.
• Extend access and awareness to it’s potential.
• Align the campus’ built environment with the school’s mission, strategic vision, and values.
• Expand outdoor learning opportunities and increase access to the woods, creek, and other elements of the natural environment.
• Enhance the level of sustainability and resilience for the campus.
Examples of Living and Learning Environments
2 | EXISTING CAMPUS
2.1 Initial Campus Impressions
2.2 Existing Campus Analysis
NEWTOWN
GEORGE SCHOOL
NeshaminyCreek
Existing Campus
A survey of the campus was conducted to assess existing conditions. This effort helped identify opportunities and challenges, and established the basis for developing the conceptual alternatives and a series of refinements which led to the development of the final Campus Master Plan.
Alumni Gym
Mollie Dodd Anderson Library
Meeting House
Fitness & Athletics Center
Energy Center
Equestrian
Farmhouse
Sunnybanke
Orton Dormitory
Westwood Dormitory
Student Health and Wellness Center
Marshall
Drayton Dormitory
Campbell Dormitory
Staff Housing
Boiler Plant
Gladstone
2.1 INITIAL CAMPUS IMPRESSIONS
General Observations
• The community loves the campus as a whole, especially the natural and historic setting.
• There is a strong sense of community.
• People appreciate the new buildings and upgrades (especially the various informal spaces that have been integrated into those buildings). Prospective families react well to the newer aesthetic.
• There is a desire to expand the use of the outdoor campus.
• The pandemic was a big obstacle in supporting community-focused activities.
• The pandemic clearly sapped a lot of energy from the faculty and staff.
• Changes in curriculum and schedule added a burden on faculty.
Residential Needs
• Family-friendly faculty/staff housing options will help with faculty retention.
• Updated student housing will aid student recruitment.
• There needs to be a consistency in furniture selection and interior design (while allowing for uniqueness of each of the “neighborhoods”) .
• There needs to be equity in amenities among dorm options (common gathering area, kitchen, inclusive bathrooms, etc.).
Outdated Facilities/Systems Needs
• Updated building systems (air conditioning, electrical infrastructure, etc.) in Bancroft and Retford
• Accessibility (elevator, ramp, rest rooms, etc.)
• Updated, flexible furniture systems in classroom buildings
• Improved acoustics in classroom buildings
Programmatic Needs
• Flexible collaboration spaces (maker, lab, projectbased spaces, etc.)
• Outdoor classroom spaces (science pavilion near pond, more formal outdoor classrooms, etc.) to better leverage the entire campus as the learning environment
• Improved rehearsal/media spaces (with built-in AV equipment)
• Increased formal exhibit space (larger than the space in the library/learning center
Community Needs
• Social and informal meeting spaces for students and faculty
• Outdoor gathering spaces (near the buildings and in other parts of the larger campus)
• Dining and gathering/assembly space for the entire community
• Upgraded and accessible location for Student Health and Wellness Center
2.2 EXISTING CAMPUS ANALYSIS
George School’s campus possesses an abundance of ecologically significant natural assets. The following analysis shows some of the observed highlights of the campus. Existing vehicular circulation, pedestrian circulation, and views are mapped to indicate areas of potential improvement.
Existing Vehicular Circulation
The two main entry points to campus are at Main Drive, towards the north end of campus, and Farm Drive, towards the south end of campus and the Fitness and Athletics Center (FAC). Many day students and visitors use the south entrance at Farm Drive and park in the adjacent lot. Visitors to the Admission Office are also directed to use this entrance.
The Main Drive entrance is used to access the Drayton Circle drop off loop or to access visitor parking areas. Both of the entrances connect via the loop road. The visitor parking accessed via the Main Drive entrance is mixed with maintenance buildings and spaces. This entrance also receives most deliveries. The current dining hall is located in Main and the service entrance forces large food truck deliveries to enter via Main Drive and wind through the parking lots and into the heart of the campus.
Existing Pedestrian Circulation
The main spine of pedestrian circulation is the academic walk that runs from Red Square to the athletic center. Students noted that this is their main route throughout the day. Secondary routes include a pathway to the north parcel and Newtown center over a pedestrian bridge, North and South Loop Roads, around residential areas, and paths around academic buildings.
Existing Views and Open Space
The views of George School’s campus attract many students and families. The views highlighted in green are the open, attractive views that former and current students enjoy. The views highlighted in red are the points of clutter and confusion that make it difficult for visitors to navigate.
LEGEND
Primary pedestrian circulation
Secondary pedestrian circulation