BPS School No. 45, Reconstruction of the International School

The International School houses approximately 950 students in Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grade.  Unique within the school district, School 45 houses children from over two dozen countries; over half of the population speaks English as a second language.

Originally built in the 1920’s, the school prominently features a 1960’s era addition with many ‘International Style’ elements incorporated into its design, most notably a patchwork brick quilt that dominates its two main facades.  This idea of a woven patchwork served as the inspiration and informed the architectural language of the 2009 addition.  Instead of using various colored face bricks in random patterns, the new 18,000 SF addition uses brick, porcelain tile, and glass in an ordered composition and houses ten new classrooms.  The addition and renovations weave this theme throughout the building, tying together different interior spaces.

The original 145,000 SF school building was renovated in its entirety and includes state of the art classrooms, media center, cafeteria, gymnasium and auditorium.  The total project was constructed for $18.2 million.