The Holland community will soon be home to a welcoming and unique looped ice-skating rink at the Window on the Waterfront (WOW) Park. The new rink will feature a ribbon design with a circle “pond” rink that creates a fun and unique user experience, bringing people to downtown Holland. 

The rink will be made of real ice during the winter months and will have multi-year use that appeals to all park users. In peak winter season, ice skating, curling, outdoor fireplaces and gathering spaces can be enjoyed at the rink. In the warmer months, a small amphitheater hill will be created for performance space with outdoor seating and amenities. Concessions, bathrooms, storage buildings and canopies will complete the outdoor rink space.

Holland Christian Schools is a vibrant, multi-campus community that is united by a common mission to equip minds and nurture hearts to transform the world. There has been a large push toward nature-based education in early childhood and kindergarten, but Holland Christian Schools expressed interest in expanding the curriculum through elementary (grades 1 and 2), intentionally placing the Forest School near the middle school building and taking steps to establish future educational models to support outdoor learning at all grade levels.

The Forest School is supportive of traditional subjects, but nature is the method through which students learn the concepts. Nature-based education is much more robust and sensory-based; students exposed to outdoor spaces show much lower levels of depression and anxiety, and that translates throughout their lives. Clustered together as a community, three buildings each have an outdoor learning space adjacent to it where students are encouraged to explore, connect with nature, and get dirty. Active outdoor play, falling down, and making a mess are considered crucial elements in learning about yourself and the environment you live in.

Saugatuck Public Schools successfully passed a $35.6 million bond in 2020 to update their district’s aging elementary and middle / high school facilities. Significant upgrades to Douglas Elementary School, originally built in the early 1950s, were proposed to enhance the students’ overall learning environment.  

Along with infrastructure improvements, the updated school design brings new opportunities to students through modern education spaces, flexible furniture, outdoor-based learning, and collaborative-focused commons areas. This project also rethinks the main entrance to enhance hospitality and security, creating a positive and welcoming first impression that is “Uniquely Saugatuck.”

Two learning commons at the heart of the facility were a focal point of the renovation. With the goal of increasing attraction to the core spaces of the elementary school, the learning commons create a welcoming environment that draws students in to engage with the extended learning areas and new technology. A new student support area near the commons center also offers special education and counseling services that are easily accessible to the whole building. Creating transparent connections, internally and externally, creates excitement around the learning that is visible and increases natural light throughout the building. Throughout the facility, expanded classrooms spaces, new lockers, and refreshed aesthetics will carry on the welcoming feeling to early learners. Renovated science, music, and art spaces also give students up-to-date materials that enhance their curriculum.

Thornapple Kellogg Schools expanded their educational offerings to accommodate a growing number of students with a new Early Childhood Center that houses the district’s preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, the Great Start Readiness Preschool, Early Childhood Special Education, and child care.

Part of the district’s $42.8 million bond to enhance the district’s educational facilities and create space for a growing community, the building and landscape are designed to accommodate early learners with spaces for both indoor and outdoor play and learning. Creating a sense of community pride, a T-shaped building puts the front of the school at the head, with a welcome area, staff offices and lounge, and a large multipurpose room and gymnasium that can be used for community events and gatherings.

The Early Childhood Center at Lake Orion Community Schools was designed to provide a safe and welcoming environment to the district’s earliest learners. The Early Childhood Center was previously housed in a small corner of Lake Orion’s old high school, and a new dedicated building for early childhood education will make learning opportunities and preparation accessible for all children in the community. 

The new building promotes a sense of pride and ownership, fostering community and a culture of equality of experience, with the guiding principle “We are all Dragons” and the playful dragon emblazoned on the side of the building.

Lake Orion voters passed a $160 million, 10-year bond in 2018 to fund capital improvements in the district, including a new early childhood education facility.

Located on the Outdoor Discovery Center’s Nature Preserve, Little Hawks Discovery Preschool is a nature-based preschool program for three and four-year-olds. Started as a partnership between Hamilton Community Schools and Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway, the program had experienced tremendous growth, leading to lengthy waiting lists for students.

The existing preschool was comprised of a single room, which significantly limited enrollment opportunities. GMB worked with Outdoor Discovery Center to determine the ideal site for the new preschool facility. The site adjacent to the existing preschool was chosen due to its position as a central hub for the entire Nature Preserve. It also enables the existing preschool facility to be converted to a daycare building to provide pre- and post-school care for students.