Steady growth in elementary populations led to a decision to move the 9th grade from an adjacent Middle School campus to the High School. The design 9-12 population of 1800
students required administrative innovation that had formal and architectural consequences.
The High School was built on seven acres in 1922 and had additions in the ‘60s and ‘80s. An intensive review of alternatives led to the decision to remain on the existing site.
A design was developed that draws on the urban setting, with new and existing spaces configured to form an exterior courtyard.
The form derives from the need to manage 1800 students. The student body is divided into four “houses” of 450, each with its own locker group. Each house has an assistant principal, guidance, special ed, and other services. Class-change routes in thisbig building were carefully detailed and generous because crowded corridors and stairways were historic problems. The solutions, including a pedestrian bridge and circular stair tower, become pleasing and successful landmarks. The bridge links opposing curving forms of the science wing and the library.
Finish materials of the thematic concepts of the new building are carried into renovated areas, uniting new and existing spaces.
