With over 20 years of partnership with Blue Oak School, Ratcliff is proud to complete a new ground-up middle school serving grades 5-8. The two-story, 27,000 square foot campus features both indoor and outdoor learning spaces on a site across from the existing Blue Oak Lower School in downtown Napa. The new campus includes art, humanities, social studies, math and music classrooms, a collaborative conference area, administration space and a 9,500 square foot gymnasium. A full commercial kitchen will be used for teaching and community events. In line with the school’s commitment to sustainability, the new campus is designed to be 100% electric, reducing its carbon footprint and creating options for future on-site power generation. Other sustainable features include heating and cooling via heat-pump, an EUI that exceeds the baseline by more than 75%, healthy material choices, natural ventilation, and limited irrigation water use.

The featured exposed wood at the underside of circulation spaces pays homage to the historic lower school across the street and provides a fresh contemporary use of the material. Strategic locations for full-height glass provide views within and across the campus, while balancing safety and security. Given the site constraints, the building footprint maximizes efficiency with an inner courtyard and roll-up garage doors at classrooms to keep a seamless flow for indoor and outdoor learning.