Celli-Flynn Brennan - Architects & Planners
Morgantown, WV
Sitting above Interstate 68 on a beautiful hilltop overlooking Morgantown will be the new St. Francis Central Catholic Elementary School. This parochial institution for 475 students will be the dominant architecture on the hilltop and be highly visible from Interstate 68.
The architecture builds on the farm imagery associated with a dairy farm that occupied this property for three generations. The building includes a silo, gambrel-shaped roofs, similar barn roofs on the classroom wings, and an architecture reminiscent of the stone house for the Pre-K classrooms, which sit free of, and in front of, the building itself. This architecture arose from the desire to reflect the history of the site while designing a building that would be at a scale and of a comfort level appropriate for 475 elementary students.
Included are pre-K thru 8 classrooms, cafeteria, full high school gymnasium, a large library/learning center, computer, art, music, and all the other facilities normally associated with a progressive elementary program. Internal colors are bright and lively to complement the playful architecture. Classes began in January 2006.