Description
Blue Valley Southwest is sited on a 112-acre (0.45 km2) plot. The 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m2) high school will serve 1,600 students in grades 9-12. The design of the building is organized around a courtyard, with all common spaces: theater lobby, administration, cafeteria, library, and cyber cafe opening directly onto this central space. The courtyard allows students an easy connection to the outdoors, while keeping them safe and secure. Recognizing that students tend to gather in small groups, the sloping courtyard permits several distinct zones: an amphitheater, breakout patio for the theater patrons, open green space, and seating terraces for the library and cafeteria.
The academic area has been organized into four small learning communities. These spaces are designed to move easily between a variety of curricular models: grade level houses, academic departments, or interdisciplinary academies. At the heart of the academic zone is the media center and a distributed administrative suite. The outstretched wings of the academic communities are linked to the library and administrative zone by Flexible Teaching and Learning Areas which allow larger, more flexible teaching spaces for special projects and informal common space.
The new school incorporates many eco-friendly design ideas. Central to this effort is a below floor, quiet, displaced air delivery system which allows improved indoor air quality and thermal comfort while using less energy to deliver conditioned air. The building features a good deal of natural day lighting, with borrow lights throughout the interior, indirect lighting with higher ceilings, and daylight sensors. The building has high-reflectance roofing materials and locally produced materials such as Kansas brick and limestone. The school was sited with careful attention to solar orientation to minimize heat gain yet maximize views. An existing pond was enhanced to collect storm water run-off and provide water for irrigation of the surrounding landscape.
Read more about this topic: Blue Valley Southwest High School
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