The new 135,000-square-foot PK-8 Faubion School represents a unique partnership with Portland Public Schools (PPS), Concordia University (CU), Trillium Family Services, Basics, and Kaiser Permanente.  For three years, Bora worked with these entities to design a pioneering facility that co-located CU’s College of Education and the Faubion School, providing both hands-on learning for emerging educators and a wealth of mentors and tutors for young students. Additionally, the building includes spaces for essential wrap-around services: a student health and wellness clinic (partially staffed by students from CU’s College of Health and Human Services), reduced-price food market, offices for non-profit social service agencies, and community education spaces.

Bora’s careful planning and programming of the building created a balance between each partner’s need for an individual identity and the educational imperative to create a seamless learning and support experience for all students from ages “3 to PhD”.  Each entity has a prominent location along the facility’s collaborative core, a continuous interior “street” that facilitates connections between partner organizations and families seeking services outside the traditional PK-8 programming.  The building’s exterior welcomes the neighborhood through several prominent and transparent entry points as well as a new playground and two large covered play areas appropriate for year-round use.

Conceived with the goal of closing the achievement gap and paving the way from grade-school to higher education, the Faubion project has the makings of a national model and embodies a bold vision of community stewardship.