The project program for the Maclay School Pre-K called for a facility that would contain 8 new classroom spaces, a multi-purpose room, and corresponding ancillary functions. Two parallel ground face block walls on opposite sides of the building serve to visually graft the building to its host site. These walls also serve to define edges of exterior playground areas. The relationship of the centralized common room to the subordinate classroom spaces evolved from a static plan geometry to one that evokes a subtle pinwheeling effect. Screen walls, within the centralized multi-purpose space, emphasize the “room within a shell” concept and, along with an abundance of top source natural light, reinforce the noble nature of this internal space. The variation of a traditional “board and batten” exterior wall treatment refers back to many of the more traditional wall treatments on the Carpenter Gothic churches and other vernacular buildings in the immediate area.