Silver Spring International Middle School.

Silver Spring International Middle School was a three-story, 252,000 square foot facility on a 15.6-acre property in an urban area, and it was shared between the Silver Spring International Middle School (SSIMS) and Sligo Creek Elementary School (SCES). It was originally Montgomery Blair High School. While somewhat intertwined, the students’ entry and educational spaces were separated, and each school had an individual identity.

The previous two-story front of the middle school, which included an abandoned auditorium, was demolished and replaced with a new, 3-story building addition designed by RRMM. The addition consisted of a new security entrance, science classrooms, new gymnasiums, and locker rooms, which were located in a remote field house.

The design of the addition enhanced the previous entry to SSIMS by constructing an outdoor terrace promenade that reduced the tall height of the addition to a human scale, responded to the site’s ADA access issues, and created a place for students to congregate before and after school while also being protected from the sun and rain. Concurrent Purple Line (light rail) construction included work on the SSIMS side of the site.

The addition relocated the main entrance of Silgo Creek Elementary School to the front of the building. This relocation allowed both school entrances to be on the front of the school, providing improved identities for both schools, along with ADA access and security. Both schools share the student drop-off area.