In Ellenwood, Ga., a southeast suburb of Atlanta, Perkins&Will has partnered with Clayton County Public Schools and MEJA Construction to create a $85 million secondary school. Morrow High School, which opened in fall 2022, serves more than 2,200 students in Clayton County, a community with students from over 30 countries.
The curving, S-shaped classroom building follows the ridge that runs across the greenfield site, reducing impact on its wetlands. The three-story classroom building connects via skybridge to an athletic building with basketball and volleyball courts, an auxiliary gym, weight room, and locker rooms. In addition to the two main buildings, students throughout the school district can access the new stadium for football and track and field, as well as facilities for baseball, softball, and tennis.
At each bend in the building, common spaces encourage students to socialize and learn in between classes. Large windows at every bend of the building’s S-curved shape allow natural light to enter the center of the facility, encouraging health and wellness.
The design also has a built-in wellness component by encouraging students to keep moving, with lighting, locker location, flooring, and colors emphasizing a sense of movement and providing access to natural light and the outdoors. All of the indoor spaces have views of the site’s natural surroundings.
“In this design, we tried to capture a vision for the future of this community that’s dynamic, healthy, and at the forefront of public education,” Jared Serwer, Associate Principal and Design Lead, Perkins&Will, said at last year’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We have worked to develop a design that celebrates the diversity of this community and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration between the sciences, the arts, career education, and athletics.”
On the Building Team:
Owner: Clayton County Public Schools
Architect: Perkins&Will
Structural engineer: Uzun + Case
Civil engineer: Eberly & Associates
MEP engineer: Andrews, Hammock & Powell
Acoustics: Acustica Design
General contractor: MEJA Construction
Related Stories
| Dec 27, 2011
USGBC’s Center for Green Schools releases Best of Green Schools 2011
Recipient schools and regions from across the nation - from K-12 to higher education - were recognized for a variety of sustainable, cost-cutting measures, including energy conservation, record numbers of LEED certified buildings and collaborative platforms and policies to green U.S. school infrastructure.
| Dec 5, 2011
RJM Construction begins building Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul
As the general contractor, RJM is constructing the 94,000-sf building that will consolidate the St. Paul school’s two other locations.
| Sep 23, 2011
Under 40 Leadership Summit
Building Design+Construction’s Under 40 Leadership Summit takes place October 26-28, 2011 Hotel at the Monteleone in New Orleans. Discounted hotel rate deadline: October 2, 2011.
| Sep 12, 2011
LACCD’s $6 billion BIM connection
The Los Angeles Community College District requires every design-build team in its massive modernization program to use BIM, but what they do with their 3D data after construction is completed may be the most important change to business as usual.
| Jul 22, 2011
Five award-winning modular innovations
The Modular Building Institute's 2011 Awards of Distinction highlight fresh ideas in manufactured construction projects.
| May 18, 2011
Former Bronx railyard redeveloped as shared education campus
Four schools find strength in numbers at the new 2,310-student Mott Haven Campus in New York City. The schools—three high schools and a K-4 elementary school—coexist on the 6.5-acre South Bronx campus, which was once a railyard.
| May 18, 2011
Eco-friendly San Antonio school combines history and sustainability
The 113,000-sf Rolling Meadows Elementary School in San Antonio is the Judson Independent School District’s first sustainable facility, with green features such as vented roofs for rainwater collection and regionally sourced materials.
| May 18, 2011
New Reform Jewish Independent school opens outside Boston
The Rashi School, one of only 17 Reform Jewish independent schools in North American and Israel, opened a new $30 million facility on a 166-acre campus shared with the Hebrew SeniorLife community on the Charles River in Dedham, Mass.
| May 18, 2011
Addition provides new school for pre-K and special-needs kids outside Chicago
Perkins+Will, Chicago, designed the Early Learning Center, a $9 million, 37,000-sf addition to Barrington Middle School in Barrington, Ill., to create an easily accessible and safe learning environment for pre-kindergarten and special-needs students.
