Architect Mike Richley unveils near-final schematic designs for Yellow Springs Exempted Village schools

Mike Richley, principal of Richley Architects, presented near-final schematic designs and a 3D model for the Yellow Springs Exempted Village school campus during the board’s April 24 meeting, saying the schematic phase will wrap up next Tuesday and construction-cost estimating will begin thereafter.

“We’re getting close to the finished, schematic design phase, which will wrap up next Tuesday,” Richley said, and added the construction manager will need “two to three weeks” to complete initial estimates. He said the team will distribute printed and PDF sets to the board and the construction manager and then begin reconciling scope and budget.

The presentation covered site plans and floor plans for Mills Lawn and the middle- and high-school wings, a new 3D model that showed a recurring equilateral-triangle motif, and multiple programmatic changes. Richley described a civil-engineering revision so full semis can enter and turn on site to serve the food-service area; that turning radius required reducing a landscape island and relocating four parking spaces to the front lot.

On food-service circulation inside the building, Richley said the serving line was flipped so students will queue and pass through in a new direction; the layout changes included adding a condiment table, relocating doors and storage, replacing a tilting skillet with a six-burner range and adding a 30-quart mixer.

Design concept and materials were a central focus. The architect said the equilateral triangle, repeated and mirrored into hexagons, informed canopy and roof shapes intended to create a sense of enclosure and shared space: “It’s about equality,” he said, noting the shapes will be expressed in beams, columns and roof planes. The presentation showed how the motif could be deployed at an extended-learning area, at entry canopies and across the commons.

Board members questioned glazing, daylighting and thermal performance. Richley proposed large classroom windows—approximately 5 feet 4 inches by 8 feet—with one egress-type casement and one hopper for ventilation; built-in blinds were proposed to address sightline and security concerns. A board member cited recent high-school design guidance and said glazing requirements appear to have increased from roughly 5% to 10% of classroom floor area; a speaker suggested research showing higher daylighting percentages can improve retention.

Energy and shading strategies were included: large roof areas were shown as available for solar panels, and the model demonstrated seasonal sun and shadow behavior so the team could tune overhangs and high-performance glazing to admit winter sun while shading the building in summer.

On program and interior layout, the board discussed library function and quiet-space needs inside a largely open commons. Richley recommended adding niches, small-group rooms and a multimedia-production room that could evolve into a quieter space; he also proposed glass-wrapped partial enclosures (with visibility for supervision) as an option for creating quieter student areas without fully closing them off.

Richley outlined three categories of alternate items the board may prioritize once estimates are available: sustainability/energy upgrades (for example, making the building solar- or geothermal-ready), performing-arts enhancements (lighting, sound and curtains to make the commons a functioning theater) and student-experience items (covered outdoor shelters, branding and additional art). He said each alternate needs a budget attached so the board can rank priorities, and that some items might be sequenced—install solar panels now, capture Inflation Reduction Act reimbursements, then fund an outdoor shelter later.

The project budget status was discussed. The chair noted Mills Lawn had been budgeted at $15,000,000; Richley said earlier documentation showed roughly a $14 million total-project estimate and that the construction manager’s reconciling estimate will clarify where the project stands relative to that allocation.

Next steps: schematic design completion next week, initial construction estimates in two to three weeks, and a likely board action item on design and budget at the May 22 meeting. No formal design approval or budget vote occurred at the April 24 session. The board adjourned after the presentation; the motion to adjourn passed 5-0.