George Rogers Clark High School

About This Project

2012

A new 245,000-square foot high school with a capacity of 1,900 students in a structure ranging from 1 to 3 stories tall. The school features flexible classrooms that can be organized by department, grade level, or career path. After comparing several structural schemes, the structural system chosen consists of loadbearing CMU walls supporting steel-framed floors and roof, except a core area of each classroom pod is steel-framed to facilitate mechanical ductwork. Typically, the classroom areas are 2-story, but due to the site topography, one section of classrooms is 3 stories tall. At the transition between the 2-story area and 3-story area, a 15-0 tall retaining wall was required.

A wide variety of sustainable design features were included in the design, including solar shading devices, tubular skylights in the lab spaces, highly efficient thermal insulation in the cavity walls, use of a chilled beam HVAC system in the classroom spaces, and a cool-roof.

The new school was designed and constructed in phases as funding allowed, with provisions to accommodate a future phase consisting of a second gymnasium and an additional 2-story classroom wing. Phase 2 integrated the district’s Area Technology Center into the main building. Attached to the main building, the ATC fully encloses a central courtyard that is integral to the schools circulation pattern and provides ample space for outdoor learning.