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The French American International School is replacing long-standing temporary classrooms with a permanent, state-of-the art structure.

The new, 29,500-square-foot building will house students in sixth through eighth grades at the private school’s campus at 8500 N.W. Johnson St. The Gilkey International Middle School has approximately 200 students and 25 teachers at a given time.

鈥淚 think every school has its culture and what it is trying to express,鈥� said Stefee Knudsen, senior associate and project director at Hacker. 鈥淭he French American (International) School is unique in that it has grown to provide a level of excellence while staying scrappy, and that is what they want to retain.鈥�

The school is an authorized International Baccalaureate World School for middle years. It has a special focus on language and, in addition to English, teaches French, German, Mandarin and Spanish.

鈥淲e are in the construction document phase now,鈥� Knudsen said. 鈥淲e want to be done with that by the end of April.鈥�

Then work will begin on a challenging site with a deep slope. The L-shaped building will house聽14 classrooms, two science rooms, collaboration spaces, a lunch hub and offices.

鈥淭he L shape is a direct response of the contour of the hill,鈥� Knudsen said. 鈥淲e want a design to work with landscape of the area around it and that is also cost conscious.鈥�

The site slopes approximately 14 feet from one end of the building’s wide side to the other. Due to the slope, the building’s north-south section will be two stories and its east-west section will be three stories.

Outdoor project amenities will include an amphitheater, outdoor dining facilities and a new trailhead deck leading to existing trails.

The project team is pursuing Energy Trust of Oregon’s 鈥淧ath to Net Zero,鈥� Knudsen said. Projects are given incentives to achieve carbon neutrality.

鈥淭he school has the long-term aspirational goal to be carbon neutral in the next 40 years,鈥� she said.

Building plans still must go through the Portland permitting process and conditional use review. Planners are hoping construction will begin this summer and the facility will be open for students in fall 2018.

On the Boards is a 91视频 feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91视频 architecture and engineering reporter Kent Hohlfeld at 503-802-7224 or [email protected].