Human inquiry was the primary driver in the reorganization of this high school campus, which had undergone multiple additions to accommodate a growing student population. The Gould Evans’ design team’s research pointed to two primary issues plaguing this growth: a lack of organization, and consequently, a lack of community.

The design solution addresses the issues of organizational clarity and transparency of program by consolidating commons, cafeteria, library and media center into a highly visible academic core, nestled between two light-filled and rejuvenated courtyards. The core serves as a social and connective “living room,” with blurred boundaries between interior/exterior and social/academic programs. Within this core, spaces accessible to the community are distinguished from student spaces with rich material texture. To further support clear wayfinding and circulation, a new building “language” was overlaid upon the campus at a multitude of scales. In some cases this language is literal, as in the braille signage; in some cases material, as in the graphic patterns embedded in the long runs of lockers or exterior building panels that transition tonally across the facade; and in some cases conceptual, as in the dappled light that filters through the exterior scrim.