--- description: More than a year after a horrific shooting at the old elementary school, the town has decided on an architectural plan for a new building title: Newtown Eyes Healing in New Sandy Hook School Design After Shooting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [shootings](/tag/shootings/) ## shootings Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sandy Hook Heals With New School Design After Shooting  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2014 2:47 PM CUT  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2014 2:47 PM CUT The Connecticut town that endured one of the worst school shootings in American history in 2012 has [decided](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/nyregion/in-new-sandy-hook-school-newtown-plays-design-role.html?%5F...&%5Fr=0 "undefined") on a design for its new elementary school, which will replace the now-demolished site of the mass shooting with a structure built to be serene, safe and cost-effective. The new building plan in Newtown, Conn., from the architecture firm Svigals + Partners, portrays a building set further back into the woods, away from street traffic, the New York _Times_ reports. The design was nicknamed “Main Street” for its curving façade and main hallway intended to evoke outstretched arms that “reach out and embrace the children as they come in,” firm-founder Barry Svigals said. Corridors extending off the main hallway end in elevated tree-house-like rooms where children can collaborate or take a moment to reflect alone, the _Times_ reports. The design was conceived to ensure views of the surrounding woods and lots of natural light. When the new building finally welcomes schoolchildren back to class in what planners estimate will be two-and-a-half years, one last relic of the old building, where Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults in December 2012 before taking his own life, will remain: the old Sandy Hook Elementary flag pole. The cost of the new structure—which one member of the building commission said was the most cost-efficient of the three final proposals considered—will be covered by $50 million in bonds raised by the state. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/nyregion/in-new-sandy-hook-school-newtown-plays-design-role.html?%5F...&%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/33444/sandy-hook-shooting-newtown-connecticut-school-design/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/33444/sandy-hook-shooting-newtown-connecticut-school-design/"},"headline":"Sandy Hook Heals With New School Design After Shooting","datePublished":"2014-03-21T14:47:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:53:51.888Z","description":"More than a year after a gunman killed 26 people and months after the old campus was razed, town officials have selected an architectural plan to rebuild the elementary school further into the woods and away from street traffic","url":"https://time.com/33444/sandy-hook-shooting-newtown-connecticut-school-design/","keywords":["shootings","Education","cities","architecture","Sandy Hook","Mass Shooting"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/shootings/","name":"shootings"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/33444/sandy-hook-shooting-newtown-connecticut-school-design/","name":"Sandy Hook Heals With New School Design After Shooting"}}]}] ```