Replacing the existing 40-year-old facility, EMA designed Emerald Hills Elementary Replacement to incorporate Sumner-Bonney Lake School District’s new educational vision of including more STEM program and flexible learning spaces into their elementary learning curriculum.

Building on the site of the original school limited the open area but created a unique shape for the building footprint. It also allowed new and improved views of the adjacent Lake Tapps and of Mt. Rainier.

The City of Bonney Lake required extensive frontage improvements that required detailed phasing on the co-occupied site. To site the building on a tight property, the classroom wings were designed as two-story elements.

The administration block and library were located to divide the classroom wing from the multi-purpose/ gymnasium spaces. The STEM classroom, adjacent to the library is located as the central highlighted focal point in the school.