The new Somerset Middle School is designed to serve 590 students in grades 6-8. The new middle school project, located on the existing site, is positioned to take advantage of the existing site topography and its integration into the educational curriculum via the stormwater management design with natural treatment systems, which creates a “working landscape” that mimics nature, including wetland cells, trickling filter, recirculating sand filters, UV disinfection, and educational bioswales. Fitness trails, an outdoor amphitheater, an outdoor performance stage, and educational classrooms continue to push the educational boundaries by expanding the educational environment beyond the walls of the building into the site. The district had numerous educational and forward-thinking goals, including an entry experience that is welcoming, inspiring, and motivating through its incorporation of static, dynamic, digital, and physical display of student work. The design includes creating three academic neighborhoods, each including two teams (PRIDE and RESPECT) with the blending of project innovation labs and small group breakout spaces, providing innovative, flexible learning environments with an abundance of natural daylighting and views to the outdoors. The new Somerset Middle School also incorporates sustainability and energy efficiency through design strategies such as an energy-efficient building envelope, high performance exterior windows, high efficiency mechanical systems, 100% LED building and site lighting systems, optimum acoustics, low-flow fixtures and faucets, and integration of on-site renewables with the re-use and expansion of the existing 300kW photovoltaic array.