Construction Completed in 2023

Winner: 2024 Honor Award for General Design from the PA-DE Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy occupies a full city block in Allegheny West, a historically black neighborhood in North Philadelphia that has suffered from decades of disinvestment and post-industrial decline. The project involved adaptive reuse of the historic school building, and a complete renovation of the site for use by 300+ students in grades 5-8. Guided by KIPP’s core values—joy, resilience, and activism—the design is infused with bold colors, playful forms, and dynamic patterns to create an environment that is both uplifting and empowering. Sustainable design strategies are embedded throughout, demonstrating a commitment to environmental justice while fostering a strong sense of community, belonging and student agency.

At the entrance of the school, students are greeted by lush greenery, a colorful sculpted berm, and bold play equipment. Two circular seating areas serve dual purposes as outdoor classrooms and gathering spaces for older students, while younger students can climb, balance, and perform on vertical structures, mounds, and a turf-covered stage. The amphitheater style of this landscape room creates a flexible space for teaching and socializing, as well as formal school gatherings and ceremonial events. On the south side of the building, a vibrant courtyard invites students and staff to dine, socialize, and play, with shaded tables, a sprinkling of stools, a basketball half-court, and a cheerful painted ground mural. The schoolyard’s green infrastructure captures and infiltrates stormwater on-site through multiple rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable surfaces. Rimming the schoolyard’s perimeter, an abundance of native trees, shrubs, flowering perennials and grasses provide hands-on opportunities for learning about SE Pennsylvania’s indigenous plant communities, native habitat and vital pollinators.
 

KIPP’s dynamic schoolyard reflects the school’s values through a vibrant, multifunctional space that supports play, learning, movement, and connection. Transitioning seamlessly between diverse uses, their school landscape engages, educates, and empowers its students.

Website: https://www.saltdesignstudio.com/kipp-prep-academy