The Eastside Memorial Early College High School and International High School, designed by Perkins+Will, will offer a STEM-focused curriculum that will provide specialized education for students with little to no proficiency in the English language.
The school, located in Austin, Texas, will sit on the site of the original L.C. Anderson High School, a historic African American high school that closed in 1971 following federal desegregation. The new facility will blend the old and new by incorporating elements of the original structure into the design scheme. The original, mid-century entrance, band hall, choir room, cafeteria, and an original classroom wing will all be preserved and rebuilt.
Courtesy Perkins+Will.
The entrance to the former location of the gym will become a community center entrance with a gallery that tells the stories of L.C. Anderson High School’s history. The gallery will include a timeline of the former school’s history, legacy medallions, and display cabinets for objects of historical significance.
See Also: University of Miami design/build program receives new immersive-learning facility
The low-profile red-brick building will be complemented by a new, taller section built primarily with metal and glass. The taller, four-story section of the building will feature learning space and student-focused classrooms. The school will feature maker labs, two gymnasiums, a health science lab, and a multi-use outdoor classroom courtyard with a performance stage, quiet reflection areas, and sensory gardens.
Courtesy Perkins+Will.
The $80-million project represents the first ground up high school in Austin Independent School District in almost 20 years. The education facility will make use of passive heating and cooling, natural daylighting, an its proximity to public transportation and bicycle routes in an effort to achieve LEED Silver certification.
The school is slated for completion in 2021.
Courtesy Perkins+Will.
Courtesy Perkins+Will.
Related Stories
| Aug 25, 2014
Tall wood buildings: Surveying the early innovators
Timber has been largely abandoned as a structural solution in taller buildings during the last century, in favor of concrete and steel. Perkins+Will's Rebecca Holt writes about the firm's work in surveying the burgeoning tall wood buildings sector.
| Aug 21, 2014
Ranked: Top science and technology sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
HDR, Affiliated Engineers, and Skanska top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest S+T sector design and construction firms.
Sponsored | | Aug 16, 2014
Fire-rated framing system makes the grade at Johnson & Wales University Center
The precision engineering of TGP’s Fireframes Aluminum Series creates narrow profiles and crisp sightlines at Johnson & Wales University Center for Physician Assistant Studies
| Aug 16, 2014
The science of learning: Designing the STEM learning facilities of the future
New technology and changing pedagogies are influencing how to best teach a generation of learners who have never known a world without smartphones or tablets, writes HOK's Kimberly Robidoux.
| Aug 14, 2014
8 do's and don'ts for completing an HVAC life cycle cost assessment
There are many hurdles to overcome when completing a life cycle cost assessment. RMF Engineering’s Seth Spangler offers some words of advice regarding LCCAs.
| Aug 14, 2014
Life cycle cost analysis using energy modeling
A life cycle cost analysis helps a school district decide which HVAC system to use in $198 million worth of future building projects.
| Aug 13, 2014
Campus UX: Why universities should be creating 'branded environments' on campus
When most colleges and universities consider their brands, they rarely venture beyond the design and implementation of a logo, writes Gensler Design Director Brian Brindisi.
| Aug 12, 2014
Vietnam's 'dragonfly in the sky' will be covered in trees, vegetation
Designed by Vietnamese design firm Vo Trong Nghia Architects, the building will be made up of stacked concrete blocks placed slightly askew to create a soft, organic form that the architects say is reminiscent of a dragonfly in the sky.
| Aug 12, 2014
First look: Calatrava's futuristic Main Building opens at Florida Polytechnic University
The $60 million structure is wrapped in a bright-white, aluminum pergola for dramatic effect and solar shading.
| Aug 6, 2014
BIG reinvents the zoo with its 'Zootopia' natural habitat concept [slideshow]
Bjarke Ingels’ firm is looking to improve the 1960s-designed Givskund Zoo in Denmark by giving the animals a freer range to roam.
