High Tech High International, reconstructed inside a 1952 Navy metal foundry training facility, incorporates the very latest in teaching technology with a centerpiece classroom known as the UN Theater, which is modeled after the UN chambers in New York.
The interior space, which looks more like a hip advertising studio than a public high school, provides informal, flexible seating areas, abundant windows to create a connection to the outside world, and flexible studio areas supporting alternative teaching methods.
As part of a larger mixed-use development on the site of Liberty Station—a former U.S. Navy training base in San Diego—converting the old metal foundry into a public high school required the Building Team to remove old machinery, cover wall penetrations, and bridge large underfloor cisterns.
Fortunately, the front of the original building, a two-story open space with large windows, lent itself to the creation of a light-filled, open lobby area, called the Commons, used for school gatherings, performances, and art exhibits. A trendy-looking catwalk extends across the space, flanked by administrative offices and conference rooms with large windows. The exposed HVAC and lighting systems add to the high-tech industrial feel of the space.
Also above the Commons floor is a curving staircase that wraps around the UN Theater. With its state-of-the-art presentation technology, this internationally themed space has become a sought-after meeting place for private groups, making it a revenue generator for the school.
The classrooms are arranged in grade-specific clusters around a studio area, with each classroom connected to the teacher's office. Twenty-five-foot sliding partitions, which double as marker boards and projection screens, support team teaching.
Prior to the design phase, the Building Team held an intensive design workshop with all major players, including the students. Design-build was chosen as the delivery method to allow for the design process to coincide with this collaboration, in addition to the historical analysis of the site and foundry.
"Because of the degree of community involvement and the various interest groups involved, it required that the architect and contractor be very much engaged early on," said panel judge Terry Krause, Berglund Construction, Chicago.
To create a globally focused school, the Building Team chose environmentally sensitive materials, such as OSB as finish cladding for the exterior of the UN Theater drum structure, Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, and Kirei board, an engineered panel made from stalks of the sorghum plant, for the reception desk.
Now entering its second academic year, this 28,000-sf charter school, built at a cost of $4.2 million, supports both structured and informal student/faculty interaction with its unique layout of classrooms, studios, informal seating areas, and multi-purpose spaces.
Related Stories
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 22, 2014
Big Data meets data centers – What the coming DCIM boom means to owners and Building Teams
The demand for sophisticated facility monitoring solutions has spurred a new market segment—data center infrastructure management (DCIM)—that is likely to impact the way data center projects are planned, designed, built, and operated.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
| May 15, 2014
'Virtually indestructible': Utah architect applies thin-shell dome concept for safer schools
At $94 a square foot and "virtually indestructible," some school districts in Utah are opting to build concrete dome schools in lieu of traditional structures.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
