P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School K-5

Gainesville, Florida
University of Florida

• Associated Architect/Contractor Design Build:  Harvard Jolly

Ramski & Company guided faculty of this new 37,487 sq. ft. 2 story, 21st century learning environment through specifying furniture as “equipment for learning” in an intensive 6 week collaboration. This specification completed a planning process begun years earlier with visionary school director Fran Vandervier and Fielding Nair International to concept an elementary learning environment, fostering learning communities and a love of learning. A school where students are learners and teachers and teachers facilitate growth and learning through a wide range of techniques. This special school design supports this learning paradigm shift through the physical facility and planning with flexible, multiuse furniture.

The school design was developed and completed by BRPH Architects with Ramski & Company providing furniture planning and specification. To collapse time, the designers accessed state contract producing a furniture package totally coordinated to the new school with exceptional performance characteristics meeting the teaching/learning requirements. This process eliminated the requirement for bidding and allowed for the successful provision of the optimum furniture for the project, on time and within budget.

In this critical design role, Ramski & Company provided guidance, expertise, resources, coordination and oversight to the decision makers. No effort was wasted on unwanted compromise. The end result has been the children can’t wait to get to school! The parents love P.K. Yonge and the teachers are embracing their new environment with some challenges due to the physical paradigm shift in space utilization, but admit the best thing is the children’s engagement level and how they embrace their new school.

Ramski & Company has been fortunate to establish this relationship for post occupancy research with P.K. Yonge and Principal, Jennifer Ramski is especially gratified to assist her alma mater (kindergarten – 12th grade) in such an important and meaningful project. We all look forward to learning at P.K. Yonge Elementary School.