Following the devastating tornado that destroyed their town and schools, USD 422 followed the principles of BNIM’s award-winning comprehensive master plan by placing the school's front door along Main Street. The Kiowa County K-12 school is organized around a central courtyard serving as a major community focal point and school amenity. BNIM and the design team designed the stormwater filtration system, stormwater conveyance systems, and all site components including bioswales, raingardens, walking trails, urban streetscape, bridges, gathering nodes, educational garden plots, multiple playgrounds and stadium.

With Greensburg’s low annual rainfall amounts (approx 22-inches/yr), the design of the site, landscaping and irrigation system was very important to the long-term success of the project. Water collection and filtration was visibly incorporated into all sides of the project including the central courtyard. Runoff from the elementary school is piped into a galvanized steel trough, raingardens and then a concrete trough headed toward the 50,000 gallon underground cistern. In addition, runoff from the high school classrooms is picked up by a series of downspouts and connected to the collection spine with concrete troughs covered by 4x18 inch pavers. In all, six large cisterns are connected to each other in an integrated strategy.