Sacred Heart Schools
CHALLENGE
How might we use space to empower a spiritual learning community as they evolve into a more integrated organization?
How might we encourage bold ideas for a unified school community, while embracing a prototyping mindset to make the case for a new master plan?
PROJECT
The Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco is a collection of four schools within one learning community that weaves academic excellence, spiritual values, and a commitment to single sex education in a co-educational context. As Sacred Heart looked for ways to embody their values and implement their latest strategic plan, TheThirdTeacher+ team used the physical environment to help transform their organization and culture. This effort included identifying physical patterns, translating shared values into design principles, identifying design opportunities for both bold campus ideas and smaller scale prototypes.
BACKGROUND
We stepped back from a traditional master plan exercise to focus more deeply evaluating the ways in which space supported pedagogy, culture, and organizational evolution. On the heels of new leadership and strategic planning, alignment and stakeholder-building were key. We:
Evaluated the campus environment through the lens of the strategic plan
Mapped opportunities and pain points throughout the three urban sites
Identified behavioral patterns central to project design drivers
Translated patterns into a collection of “catalyst” pilot projects and provocative “futures” projects to spur transformative dialogue
Identified and implemented the first series of pilot projects in summer for academic year reflection
VISIONING • PROGRAMMING • DESIGN • USER RESEARCH • WORKSHOPS
Our process:
Image by Emi Day
ROLE + COMPETENCIES:
PROJECT ENGAGEMENT LEAD • RESEARCH + DESIGN FACILITATOR • ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIST • WORKSHOP FACILITATION + DESIGN
The Center at Convent High School
In the summer of 2013, we designed a new learning center and social heart in their all-girls Convent High School. This project created momentum as they began the implementation of their strategic plan and empowered young women and their teachers to reflect, collaborate, connect, and celebrate together more effectively. This project acted as the foundation for a series of transformative place-based pilots and resulted in subsequent master-planning work.
The existing Convent High School Student Center
Created with TheThirdTeacher+. Teammates include Lori Day (Design Lead), Emi Day (Junior Designer), Trung Le (Project Principal), and Ashley Marsh (Phase Two Analysis). Images by Emi Day and Melanie Kahl.