With over 6,000 students across the district and only a single school to accommodate all middle-level learners, Auburn-Washburn USD 437 needed a second middle school to help alleviate overcrowding. Multistudio worked closely with teachers, students, and administrators to design a school that promotes collaboration, wellness, and academic success.

The new facility enables sixth-grade students to transition smoothly from elementary to middle school, aligning with developmental and academic goals. Emphasizing socio-emotional well-being, the school embraces a “learning happens everywhere” approach, with flexible spaces that foster autonomy, connection, and personal expression.

At the heart of the design is the “Forest Walk,” a circulation spine adjacent to the site’s wooded edge that unites dining, library, and commons into a vibrant, all-day learning hub. This strategic consolidation of underutilized programs reduced the school’s footprint by nearly 10,000 SF without sacrificing function—freeing resources for enhanced programming. Informed by student feedback through surveys and workshops, the design directly reflects the needs and aspirations of its learners.

The Forest Walk offers a sequence of private and semi-private settings that encourage students to gather, connect, and collaborate. Abundant natural light fills the building’s central spine, strengthening its biophilic connection to the outdoors and fostering a comfortable, inviting environment for social interaction and exchange.

Arranged like pebbles scattered along a path, students may also explore the ‘space between’—each unique in scale, privacy, and connection to the outdoors.

Inspired by the color, rhythm, and scale of the rural Kansas landscape, Washburn Rural North Middle School bridged learning spaces to the natural environment, celebrating the dynamic experiences afforded by daylight, vegetation, seasons, and sky.

The rhythm of a delicate louver and texture of a custom corrugated skin playfully express the natural dynamics afforded by the sun, creating an organic sense of place within the surrounding landscape.

Just beyond the classroom commons, every grade level is connected to its own outdoor learning environment—a series of interconnected workspaces interwoven with a tapestry of native flora.

A simple palette of materials—wood, brick, and metal—define an interconnected building language throughout the school. This subtle yet impactful system of visual cues provides an intuitive roadmap for how space and programs might be used or interpreted.

Design: Multistudio
Photography: Michael Robinson