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
| May 23, 2014
Big design, small package: AIA Chicago names 2014 Small Project Awards winners
Winning projects include an events center for Mies van der Rohe's landmark Farnsworth House and a new boathouse along the Chicago river.
| 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 22, 2014
Just two years after opening, $60 million high school stadium will close for repairs
The 18,000-seat Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, opened in 2012 to much fanfare. But cracks recently began to appear throughout the structure, causing to the school district to close the facility.
| 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
Steven Holl's sculptural Institute for Contemporary Art set to break ground at VCU
The facility will have two entrances—one facing the city of Richmond, Va., the other toward VCU's campus—to serve as a connection between "town and gown."
| May 13, 2014
Universities embrace creative finance strategies
After Moody’s and other credit ratings agencies tightened their standards a few years ago, universities had to become much more disciplined about their financing mechanisms.
| 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.
