Hanson Elementary

Hanson Elementary School replaces its namesake as a community pillar in Hanson, Kentucky. Students enter and exit every day over the salvaged center-court circle from the basketball court of Hanson’s predecessor, a floor on which a state-record 114 points were scored in a single game by Wayne Oakley in 1954.

Lower-floor classrooms are designed for younger students, with classrooms including dedicated restroom facilities and stair-free access to all shared program areas. Upper-floor classrooms are generously sized due to the mechanical mezzanine located above classroom wings, permitting almost all upper-story areas to serve an instructional purpose.

The facility’s shared programs, including the Gymnasium, Cafeteria, Administration, Media Center, and Specials Classrooms, are located adjacent to the great hall, which provides breakout areas for next-generation education. A large flex lab and extended learning area is adjacent to the Media Center to provide ample room for breakouts, meetings, as well as training and professional development sessions.

Seating for all 600 students is provided in the Gymnasium, which doubles as the facility’s Storm Shelter. The storm shelter is a community shelter designed to withstand winds of 250 mph. This facility boasts space, structure, and systems designed to function before, during, and after a tornado. The adjacent Cafeteria provides a practice gymnasium, with striping and basketball goals furnished for overflow events from the Gymnasium.

Hanson Elementary also reflects the incredible involvement of its community, with a site designed to accommodate car-rider drop-off for the vast majority of students. A geothermal wellfield doubles as a play space, rounding out a site as tied to the community as the facility it replaces.