Wy'East Middle School Renovation & STEAM Addition

Hood River County School District

The Wy’East Middle School Renovation & STEAM Addition project involves three key scope areas: a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) addition, overall facility upgrades and seismic improvements to the existing gymnasium.

Size: 81,000 sf
Location: Hood River, OR

The STEAM addition leverages the existing shop space, rehabilitating it into a 21st century Maker Space. It is directly linked to a Prototype Lab with glazing, creating transparency and visual connection.

Adjacent to the Maker Space are two new science classrooms with large glazed garage doors that open onto an “Outdoor Learning Area” that includes areas for gardening, field experiments and other outdoor instruction.

A new “Commons Space” provides an informal learning space for student gathering, general instruction, as well as community functions and provides a direct link between the Maker Space and the Performing Arts Center (PAC) as well as outdoor areas.

To further strengthen the STEAM programs and create more connection between the Maker Space and teaching spaces, entrances to two of the existing classrooms were reconfigured to promote more collaboration among instructors in the STEAM disciplines.