Franklin Elementary School Expansion and Renovations

The expansion of Franklin Elementary School added 21 classrooms to support a growing and shifting student population in the North Allegheny School District. The project also introduced a flexible large-group learning space, new music classrooms, a multi-purpose gymnasium, and a cafeteria with a stage.

The design team set out to spark imagination and create a learning environment that students would be excited to experience every day. They chose a bright color palette to highlight key greeting, gathering, and circulation spaces. In the main lobby, overlapping blues, yellows, and greens appear in the flooring, ceilings, and furnishings, then guide students through the corridors toward the classrooms and the building’s largest gathering space—the multi-purpose cafeteria. The blue, yellow, and green palette also serves as a wayfinding tool, identifying grade levels and easing the transition into a building that doubled in size.

The project prioritized advanced learning environments that will support the District’s programs well into the future. The team completed the work concurrently with the McKnight Elementary School expansion.

Franklin Elementary School was awarded the 2021 “People’s Choice Award” given by the AIA Pittsburgh.