Davis Waldorf School

Davis, California - 1998

As you pass through the thick site walls and articulated gateways surrounding the school you enter a different realm - one in which buildings and nature flow together and learning is enhanced through an intimate connection to the environment and each other.

The classrooms, shaped according to anthroposophic principles, are clustered in two buildings, which form a gentle crescent facing South.  Students enter through a mudroom on the North side into classrooms bathed in light from skylights and large South facing windows.

Doors on the South side of each classroom open directly onto a large, lush meadow where flowers abound and games, festivals, and horticultural and outdoor education are easily pursued.  Interior rammed earth walls and archways made with native California clays in beautiful layers add texture and a sense of permanence and connection to the earth.