Sprauve PK-12 US Virgin Islands

The new construction of the Sprauve PK-12 campus, as identified in the Educational Facility Master Plan, is one of the first three projects being implemented in the US Virgin Islands. Sprauve combines a light building footprint, resiliency, and innovative building systems to create a flexible and forward-thinking learning environment for the students, faculty, and St. John community.

Working with the site’s steep topography, DLR Group designed the buildings to grow from the earth (Grotto) to the sky (Altana) with various opportunities for discovery along the journey. The base of the campus and each individual building root themselves in the earth by means of heavier materiality. Diffused natural daylight washes over these areas to enhance one’s connection to the ground. As one ascends to the learning suites, the building materiality and spaces become softer and lighter, with larger openings and ample outdoor learning spaces perched within the site’s tree canopy.

The concepts of exploration, progression and discovery are found throughout the campus. Traveling through the site becomes an exploratory journey, with pockets of discovery throughout. Examples of this include the display of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural systems at the forefront of the design. These are featured in both interior and exterior zones such as the display of water levels within each of the cisterns. Openings into typical “back of house” systems highlight some of the mechanical and electrical components that allow the buildings to function properly. This aspect allows the students to visually interact and engage with their surrounding learning environment.