Wingate Replacement School - Gallup NM 

The  Wingate Replacement School, provides boarding for 845 students from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade.

This Design/Build project is the first new school in the area (20 miles east of Gallup) since 1966. The $37.4 million, 260,800 square foot school consists of new dormitories and classrooms for the 650 Navajo students who live on campus during the week.

The school also has an early childhood center, science labs, a media center, computer technology classrooms, and full administrative services.

Site design began with the question, "how should this project respond to the cultural context and meet the community needs, as well as, provide a state of the art educational environment."

The undeveloped site required developing all infrastructure elements, water, electricity, natural gas, sanitary and storm sewer and communication wiring and connections. 

The building layout acknowledges passive solar energy design, combining natural light with wind buffers to shelter the students.

The circular layout of the buildings creates a natural area for an outdoor performance space between the two schools that will be used by the entire student body.

The cafeteria is located conveniently adjacent to both schools. The gymnasium is also convenient to both the elementary and middle schools but is somewhat closer to the middle school as they are the main users. Locker rooms, prep/green rooms, and event storage are part of the gymnasium facility.

Learning and maintaining the Navajo tribe's language and traditions is an important element of the educational mission of the school

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