Marin Country Day School

Founded in 1956, Marin Country Day School began in rented circus tents, with portable bathrooms, water barrels, and field telephones. An all–purpose room, a gymnasium, and library/administration and music-and-art buildings were completed in the early sixties. Expansion of the art, music, and drama programs resulted in construction of a Performing Arts Center in 1981. Today the school is an independent, nonprofit, K–8 coeducational institution enrolling 540 students at its 35-acre campus.

Begun in 2007, the multiphase master plan included six new buildings—33,000 sf of new construction—and a series of renovations. Step 1, which is LEED Gold certified, includes a multipurpose room addition with some light-kitchen capability, a new administration building, a facilities building, and a performing arts addition featuring music rooms.

LEED-Platinum certified Step 2 consists of the zero-energy, 29,000 sf Learning Resource Center with art studios, technology labs, and high-performance classrooms. The energy produced by a photovoltaic solar array will be more than the Learning Resource Center will consume. Exceptional daylighting, natural ventilation, and healthy indoor air quality all help create a high-performance learning environment in support of the educational mission of MCDS.

The Learning Resource Center | Step 2 received the AIA SF 2011 Excellence in Architecture Honor Award and was named to the 2013 AIA Committee on the Enviroment's Top Ten Green Projects. In addition, Marin Country Day School is CHPS certified, the highest standard for green building specific to schools in California.

Executed as Tipping Mar