Minn. District Consolidates All Students into One Facility

Construction company Kraus-Anderson recently announced the completion of a $30-million elementary school in Pipestone, Minn. The facility is an addition to the district’s existing middle and high school building, meaning that the full facility will house all of the district’s 1,150 public school students. About 500 elementary school students had previously been split between two outdated buildings, according to a press release.

The elementary school addition covers 85,940 square feet and serves students in grades preK–5. The two-story facility features amenities like a central visitor entrance for security reasons, a renovated and expanded kitchen and cafeteria, a new gymnasium, flex learning areas, and administration offices. Kraus-Anderson and the school district partnered with ISG Architects for the design process.

Other design features include flexible classroom seating and tables with adjustable heights; tables that students can write on; one flexible learning space per floor, and sensory rooms with adjustable lighting and special equipment.

Voters approved the district bond referendum project in 2019.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Construction Begins on New University Research Vessel

    Boat-building company All American Marine recently announced that it has begun construction on a new catamaran research vessel for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) in Port Aransas, Texas, according to a news release.

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • From Approval to Opening: Inside Travis Unified School District’s Fast Tracked Campus Expansion

    The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) in northern California includes several elementary and high schools serving over 5,400 students. In 2024, the TUSD Board approved the addition of sixth grade to the Golden West Middle School campus for the 2025–26 school year, setting in motion an accelerated effort to bring new facilities online in less than a year.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.