| The high school will house 3,200 students for which supervision and security were the main design concept. Upon entering the campus, there is a sense of security due to the well-envisioned design that allows maximum supervision from the one- and two-story buildings surrounding a courtyard-like setting. This concept provides proper visual supervision capabilities thus minimizing the complexity of cluttered building concepts.
The design was kept efficient, durable, and straightforward. This allowed more flexibility to include design features to promote school pride, provide state of the art learning environments, and incorporate many sustainable features. The new school makes available career-technology programs highly sought after by the community and incorporates many environmentally responsible features to keep the maintenance and operations cost to a minimum.
The strategic location of the school brings a new 21st Century learning environment to a community which did not have its own high school. The athletic facilities as well as the theater and library foster community use and partnership with the city. For example, the aquatic center with the 50-meter pool can serve the community during summer months. The large stage of the art theater could also be used for theatrical productions or church services throughout the year. More importantly, the students now have the opportunity to attend a local school rather than being bussed every day to school miles from their homes.
The school was designed to achieve 35 CHPS points by including many sustainable and energy efficient fixtures and equipment. Natural lighting with tubular skylights reduces the number of lighting fixtures that need to be on during the day. 1 Mw photovoltaic-covered parking lot structures provide 35% of the school’s energy consumption. Thermo-solar panels warm the pool and reduce the use of the energy efficient heaters. Bioswales are used to filter runoff water before it gets released onto the street and prevent the overflow of the storm water system. Daylight harvesting is used in classrooms, which has been proven to improve concentration and student performance. The project incorporates underground detention basins, white cool roofs, and artificial turf to reduce the use of fertilizers and chemicals, and a rubberized track to help reduce dust during wind storms. Classrooms are integrated to the building management system which increases the efficient use of the HVAC system. Creston Control technology integrates all the different systems and devices on the campus to a single open platform so they can communicate and work together seamlessly. The staff has the ability to monitor, manage, and control all technology from one platform, from anywhere, anytime. They can turn off equipment that has been left on and not in use which reduces the inefficient use of energy.
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