North Elementary School has a long-held legacy of academic excellence that only seems to shine brighter with every generation of students who pass through its doors. Founded in 1954, the school became one of Southern Utah’s first STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math Education) schools in 2011, eventually earning a Platinum Utah STEM School designation – the highest designation awarded by the Utah STEM Action Center.  

Despite multiple expansions over the years to accommodate a rigorous curriculum, the school needed to be replaced, and Iron County School District recruited NWL Architects to create a design that would support and enhance the school’s high-achieving education ethos. The result was a new 74,779-square-foot elementary school equipped with engaging design elements that provide architectural interest and serve as learning opportunities for students.  

The school’s open ceiling areas allow students to study the building's interwoven infrastructure systems, while window mullion placement mimics patterns of DNA sequencing imagery. Earth-toned exterior masonry in dark and light hues adds to the feeling of movement the windows evoke, creating an engaging and welcoming facade for an equally dynamic school.  

Designed around its students, the new North Elementary School serves as a renewed haven for state-of-the-art STEM learning. Ground was broken on March 23, 2016, on the site of the original front playground, and the building opened for the 2017–18 school year.