After witnessing the challenges and pressures brought on by Covid-19, Idaho Design Build was determined to proactively respond to the needs of their local community. We identified several focus areas and undertook an extensive outreach effort, leading to a partnership with the local school district.

The A. B. McDonald Elementary Outdoor Classroom is a unique collaboration between the two schools, providing invaluable experience and knowledge to the students who created it, and safety and resources to the students that will use it for years to come.

A. B. McDonald Elementary has long advocated for outdoor learning and allows students to use the greenery surrounding the school for varied educational activities. An outdoor seating area was located on the site in the past but was removed in 2018 for safety reasons.

With the onset of Covid-19, the school recognized the need to rebuild. They required a permanent and centralized focus area to organize the outdoor space. This would allow students to socially distance and safely enjoy the benefits of the outdoors while giving the teachers the structure needed to guide a class.

The team worked with the McDonald staff, school district officials, and Reliant Engineering to ensure that the classroom would withstand the test of time. For now, it will help young students from kindergarten to 5th grade transition back into normalcy. In the future it will serve as a safe and durable gathering space for the children of the community.

noah anderson

joshua bianco

belanna blackburn

grayson boldt

george bowler

west chalfant

brenna church

koen conner

marco delgadillo

trinity dion

ryan hart

monica higbee

kyler lee

riley leighton

zack maughan

ben mendenhall

lucia osborne

aubrey pera

dom pera

sajja piya

tristan sahwell

kurtis zylstra

Scott Lawrence, assistant professor

LaRae Tomera, teaching assistant

Brett Carter, adjunct instructor

2022 Design Build Education Award

Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

A+ Award Architecture + Collaboration

Architizer Awards - Jury Winner

Honorable Mention

Northwest and Pacific AIA

Collaborators

Moscow School District

AB Mcdonald Elementary School

City of Moscow

Evan Laubach, PE - Reliant Engineering

David Schmidt - CAA Technical Shop Director

Doug and Melanie Wasankari

“AB McDonald Elementary Outdoor Classroom”.

Lawrence, Scott. Tomera, LaRae.

Conference Presentation and Film. | Watch Here |

ACSA 110 - Los Angeles, CA/ Virtual.

“Community Engaged Design Build at the Nexus of Crisis Response and Material Scarcity”

Conference Poster and Presentation.

Arch 22 - TU Delft, Netherlands

Accepted and Forthcoming - August 2022

“The World’s Best Architecture: Achitizer A+ Awards 2022

Phaidon, 2022 (forthcoming)

“Outdoor Habitat Constructed for McDonald Ducks”

Jackson, David. - uidaho.edu

March 2022

“Learning Outside”

Jackson, Scott. - Moscow-Pullman Daily News

June 11, 2021