Kadena Elementary School

A school that accommodates all DoDEA requirements, ensuring it’s constructable and maintainable in Japan.

Project Type
K-12 Classroom

Client
USACE Japan District

Square feet
150,000 SF

Cost
$90,000,000

KZF, as part of a Joint Venture with Woolpert, provided design and engineering services for the replacement of Kadena Elementary School in Okinawa, Japan, under the guidance of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Japan District, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).

The new $90M, 147,000 SF elementary school accommodates 840 students in pre-K through 5th grade. The design project incorporates DoDEA 21st Century educational facility specifications.

The project provides many design challenges/opportunities, including phased construction in which a portion of the existing school will be demolished to allow new school construction, while also supporting continued use of the existing school. The new school will provide flexible and adaptable space for learning and potential future expansion of the school. The new school is designed to strive for LEED Silver standards and includes flexible and creative spaces, enabling a switch from the passive lecture-style learning to a more active peer-to-peer, project-based learning model..