Lafayette Parish School System engaged LEMOINE as Construction Manager at Risk (CMaR) to deliver the new Truman Early Childhood Education Center in Lafayette, LA.
Serving Truman’s 480 pre-kindergarten students, this project replaced the existing school with a newly constructed facility on a 10-acre greenfield site. The 70,000+ SF “sunburst” design consists of four learning communities called “tripods”. Each tripod consists of a discovery zone, teacher planning space, dedicated special education classroom space, and 6 classrooms called “learning studios”.
Classrooms within each tripod will be paired in groups of two with each set including front porches, restrooms, and a divider wall that allows for educators to combine spaces for expanded group activities.
The facility also includes multipurpose areas, food services and dining, a media center, administration wing, an enclosed centralized playground, and green spaces.
This project brought immense value to the community. Providing a safe and vibrant learning environment for hundreds of Lafayette’s Preschool-aged children.
The design of the project is unique in and of itself. The sunburst design allows for maximum use of the property while encouraging adaptive learning and group activities. Split into five distinct groups—Forest, Sky, Meadow, Lake, and Stream—this framework boosts student involvement and fosters social growth,establishing a robust groundwork for lifelong achievement.
By employing a decentralized dining approach that places dining areas adjacent to the learning pods, student transition periods are markedly shortened. Meals are packed into mobile warming carts and transported to each dining area, guaranteeing convenient access to food and minimizing disruptions to precious learning moments.
Many innovative materials were used in the spaces. The new Truman Early Childhood Education Center is home to 480 students. All of those giggles and squeals get noisy! To help manage the acoustics, Tectum panels are suspended from select ceilings throughout the facility. TECTUM Shapes Acoustical Clouds deliver design flexibility and acoustic performance in a floating system.