In Warrensville Heights, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Cleveland, a $31.7 million project has completed a newly constructed middle school and high school accommodating over 1,000 students in grades 6-12.
In 2016, the Warrensville Heights School District engaged Moody Nolan to assist in master planning and to design the combined middle and high school buildings, while incorporating input gathered from the community and teachers. Construction lasted from late 2019 to mid-2023.
The high school and middle school have been designed with flexible learning environments that include open collaboration areas, small group rooms, and maker spaces intended to foster diverse teaching and learning approaches. The project also renovated the high school’s existing science wing.
Offerings include culinary arts, restaurant, firefighting training, auditorium, and an expanded high school gym.
Adjacent to the auditorium lie the academic zones, with general education classrooms, specialized rooms, and versatile spaces on each floor. Each academic zone also has a central learning commons to extend the classroom environment.
The media center, which is centrally located in the academic area for everyone to use, features porcelain tile learning stairs with flexible seating, promoting both collaboration and quiet study. Surrounding the media center are the TV studio, career area, and visual design studio.
At the school’s request, the project also includes an e-sports center for the school’s e-sports team and gaming club. The center features both individual and group gaming stations for the virtual competitions and overlooks the learning stair in the media center for spectators.
A corridor connects the schools to the adjacent community center. A butterfly canopy at the high school and community entrances impacts the interior design, reflecting light through its angled walls.
Durable, low-maintenance interior finishes, such as LVT flooring with acoustical backing, reduce noise transmission from floor to floor and eliminate the need for waxing, saving the school district time and money each summer.
Outside, the complex features a football stadium with an eight-lane running track, an athletics plaza, baseball and softball fields, and a bus maintenance garage.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Warrensville Heights City School District Board of Education
Design architect and architect of record: Moody Nolan
MEP and structural engineer: Osborn Engineering
General contractor: Infinity Construction Company




Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Hensel Phelps among the nation's 50 largest design-build contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 Design-Build Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Gilbane, Manhattan Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 50 largest K-12 school contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 K-12 School Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Best AEC Firms of 2011/12
Later this year, we will launch Best AEC Firms 2012. We’re looking for firms that create truly positive workplaces for their AEC professionals and support staff. Keep an eye on this page for entry information. +
| Aug 11, 2010
Clark Group, Mortenson among nation's busiest state/local government contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 40 State/Local Government Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit /giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Lincoln High School
Tacoma, Wash.
Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash., was built in 1913 and spent nearly a century morphing into a patchwork of outdated and confusing additions. A few years ago, the Tacoma School District picked Lincoln High School, dubbed “Old Main,” to be the first high school in the district to be part of its newly launched Small Learning Communities program.
| Aug 11, 2010
Call for entries: Building enclosure design awards
The Boston Society of Architects and the Boston chapter of the Building Enclosure Council (BEC-Boston) have announced a High Performance Building award that will assess building enclosure innovation through the demonstrated design, construction, and operation of the building enclosure.
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.