L. Frances Smith Elementar

John M. Johansen

1969

L. Frances Smith Elementary featured multilevel reinforced concrete construction connected by brightly painted steel ramps—nicknamed “gerbil tubes.” Johansen intended the design to “excite, intrigue, tempt, and involve” its users. An expansion and renovation by his son Christen Johansen in 1997 updated the building, which remains an example of Johansen’s innovative and experimental modernism.