Medicine Crow Middle School
Progressive education design reflective of local culture.
Medicine Crow Middle School
ARCHITECTURE | INTERIORS
Medicine Crow Middle School is the outcome of a series of workshops between the design team, school administration, and Billings Heights community. A shared design goal was to fully infuse each space with natural daylight. As a result, breakout areas, tech labs, and flexible social spaces are awash with sunlight filtering through floor-to-ceiling windows to invigorate and inspire the learning experience. The sleek, modern exterior organically highlights the multitude of glass windows through its clean lines, angular edges, and smooth surfaces. The building’s entrance leads to the Commons, an open space with immense ceiling and sweeping views of the outdoor courtyard. The design strategically configurated the school and its athletic facilities for both student and community use, holistically serving the district’s children, families, and local residents.
Medicine Crow Middle School
Progressive education design reflective of local culture.
ARCHITECTURE
Medicine Crow Middle School is the outcome of a series of workshops between the design team, school administration, and Billings Heights community. A shared design goal was to fully infuse each space with natural daylight. As a result, breakout areas, tech labs, and flexible social spaces are awash with sunlight filtering through floor-to-ceiling windows to invigorate and inspire the learning experience. The sleek, modern exterior organically highlights the multitude of glass windows through its clean lines, angular edges, and smooth surfaces. The building’s entrance leads to the Commons, an open space with immense ceiling and sweeping views of the outdoor courtyard. The design strategically configurated the school and its athletic facilities for both student and community use, holistically serving the district’s children, families, and local residents.
Celebrating the local landscape
Copper hued metal panels adorn the exterior in a horizontal pattern to emulate the sandstone striations banded through the city’s signature Rimrocks, relating the design to the environmental context.
The man behind the name
In honor of Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, the school bears the war chief’s name, continuing his legacy as an inspiring Montana educator, historian, and author. Dr. Medicine Crow was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom before his passing in 2016 at 102 years old.
A community concept
The design incorporated the neighboring elementary school into the campus layout, creating new baseball fields, parking areas, and walking trails around the existing pond. Each feature was designed to not only enhance each school, but the community as a whole.