The Potomac Crescent Waldorf School had been operating in church basements and buildings around the Alexandria, VA area for more than 2 decades with no real home to call their own. It was time to anchor in, so the architect worked directly with the school to find the right location, and then immediately set to work developing the interior fit out. The school holds classrooms for grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade, as well as a multi-purpose room, faculty space, and a kitchen used for teaching children various cooking techniques. The playground is small, but there is a direct connection between the lowest level and the outdoors, and the children easily flow through the interior-exterior space with ease.

The Potomac Crescent Waldorf School educates children based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, a developmental approach that emphasizes goodness, beauty and truth. It endeavors to build a diverse community, and that cultivates in each child a sense of meaning and purpose in life, kindness, respect, academic excellence, confidence, creativity and a love of learning. The philosophy that the school adheres to is deeply appealing to our architectural practice as we devote ourselves to designing with nature. The school uses only natural materials in its learning process – wood blocks and silk fabrics as play toys, for instance. All of the children learn to play a wooden flute, and each one knits his or her own sleeve to hold the flute. A full range of development is emphasized for the children, and the architectural elements play a mighty role in that experience. The child, and the teacher, are seen to not be separate from their environment.

Design: Cedar Architecture
Contractor: Greentouch Builders
Photography: Paul Burk