Yasuhara Middle School

The Denny Yasuhara Middle School project consists of the design and construction of a new two-story education facility with an attached gymnasium, athletic fields, and parking areas. The development encompasses a total building footprint of approximately 135,000 square feet. The construction consists of a steel and timber superstructure with decorative exterior finishes and slab-on-grade floors (non-basement). 

Yasuhara is designed and constructed under the new district-wide model that moves sixth grade to middle school and is designed around learning neighborhoods. The design addresses the District’s Middle School Facility Design Standards and includes a learning commons, learning neighborhoods, and collaboration spaces. Learning neighborhoods and the way they shape the two commons spaces are the key to building organization; allowing natural daylighting to reach deep within the school. Importantly, its design is a unique response to the sloping site, the history of Spokane Public Schools, and the woodworking industry in the neigh­borhood.