Continental Colony Elementary School

Project Overview
Built in 1962 in the historic Greenbriar area, Continental Colony Elementary School is nestled in a quiet neighborhood in southwest Atlanta within the Camp Creek watershed. The school contains several buildings, a large parking lot, playground, and open green space. The buildings and parking lot produce stormwater runoff, while very little is generated offsite.

Project Description
The project is designed to maximize infiltration and storage from the parking lot and surrounding green space while creating green infrastructure (GI) features and supporting the curricula and educational mission of Atlanta Public Schools (APS). To achieve these goals, Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners, LLC have created a design that will preserve existing structures while strategically inserting Best Management and (GI) Practices across various locations. Each location will support a different educational module, which will explore GI principles such as evapotranspiration, infiltration, capture, storage, and release. Broader concepts like Piedmont ecology, Georgia agriculture, and Atlanta’s diverse metro habitat will also be studied. The addition of QR codes on informational kiosks will direct smartphone users to an online platform for further exploration. This platform will serve as a springboard for self-directed learning and conversation about what it means to be a citizen of the Camp Creek Watershed and the greater Atlanta region.

Winning Team
The winners of the GI Design Challenge for Continental Colony Elementary School are comprised of design professionals, a community representative, and a student representative. Team members include:

• Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners, LLC
• Accura Engineering and Consulting Services, Inc.
• Shapes At Work
• Nirajan Dhakal, PhD – Community Representative
• Kirin Turner – Student Representative

Project Briefs
GI Design Challenge Continental Colony Elementary school