Logos Academy – Upper School Addition

Additions and Renovations Provided A New Upper School and Community Spaces

Logos Academy, an independent, Christ-centered school in York, Pennsylvania, started with 14 kindergarten and first-grade students. It has since grown to welcome approximately 275 students and their families regardless of faith or financial capacity in grades K-12. With the program growth including grades 9-12, Logos Academy needed a new, larger home for its Upper School as well as additional campus amenities for its growing community.

Photo credit: Nathan Cox Photography

Project Highlights

Client:
Logos Academy

Location:
York, PA

Services:
Architecture

Interior Design

Construction Administration

Type:
Addition

Renovations

Adaptive Reuse

This classroom space can also be utilized for community events

Renovations & Additions Provide Needed Space

Through renovations and additions on an adjacent building site, Logos Academy expanded its campus to house up to 200 additional students and created community spaces to support York’s diverse downtown community.

Phase 1 of the project added space for high school instruction, including a science lab, visual arts instruction, student gathering spaces, conference rooms and an art gallery. Phase 2 added a gymnasium and weight room for K-12 students, a student café that flows through operable doors into an outdoor urban garden, and a community space for events and meetings. The classroom design is driven by Logos Academy’s commitment to a classical education model with features such as Harkness tables incorporated into the design.

Finding Space for 200 High School Age Students in an Urban Setting

Bounded by public roads and urban infrastructure, the new home for the upper school and community spaces is across the street from the Logos Academy Lower School.

The design concept had to work within a limited footprint to provide an engaging learning environment while respecting the surrounding community fabric.

This meeting space which retains the original Art Deco facade can be utilized by the community

Creating Contemporary Learning Spaces in Historic Structures

Previously, the buildings housed a former YMCA gymnastics program, warehouse space, a gas station, and a Cadillac car dealership.

This dealership was built in the 1930s with a distinctive Art Deco showroom facade, one of the last surviving building facades of this style in downtown York. Logos Academy salvaged this historic showroom architecture transforming the space into a central gathering space for its campus and outside community groups.

Maintaining Connections with York City

Because Logos Academy is in downtown York, PA, the design reflects the academy’s commitment to the urban community and the activities taking place on the expanded campus. To serve as a downtown resource, specific public-use spaces include the gallery, community room, gymnasium, café and urban garden. This connection, as well as student and staff safety, was key in designing the school with appropriate adjacencies and access. The classroom wing within the historical building can be separated from public functions which may be taking place in the community areas of the building.

Logos Academy Upper School Addition

Project Highlights

Renovations & Additions Provide Needed Space

Finding Space for 200 High School Age Students in an Urban Setting

Creating Contemporary Learning Spaces in Historic Structures

Maintaining Connections with York City

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