GAINESVILLE, Ga.—Gainesville High School is currently undergoing a $55 million retrofit and improvement to update the school.

This spring, as part of the project, construction has continued on the 43,000-square-foot Advanced Studies Center, according to the Gainesville Times.  The studies center will house technical and agricultural education programs, as well as AP biology and AP chemistry classes.  Furthermore, there will be space for laboratories, where students can collaborate on science projects.  The new learning facility is projected to be ready for the fall semester.

Other buildings currently underway include a two-story cafeteria and media center.  The 44,000-square-foot building is projected to be ready for next January.  And due to debut in the summer of 2022 are a three-story education space that will connect to the new media center and cafeteria building, and the 90,000-square-foot Student Activities Center.  The activity center will host gymnasium facilities, meeting areas as well as areas devoted specifically to the marching band and Naval Junior ROTC program.

According to the Gainesvilles Times, school officials believe that the improvement of the campus will make things more “centralized” on the campus, and thus cut down on the time students need to move in between buildings.

Near the high school, work is also underway on a new $25 million middle school, which was needed as the existing middle school in the city was becoming crowded.  The two-story, 185,000-square-foot school will offer the latest technology in its science labs and classrooms.  The middle school will also feature a media center, gymnasium and outdoor sports facilities.

The name of the middle school is to be determined, and the Times reports that community input will be solicited for not only its name but also its mascot and team name.

Serving as general contractor for the high school improvement is Carroll Daniel Construction, who is working with architect of record Robertson Loia Roof PC.

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The categories for the awards were divided into levels of Citation, Merit and Excellence.

 Photo Credit: Eduard Hueber

The recipients of the Excellence Category include the Royal Conservatory at the Telus Centre for Performance and Learning in Toronto, a historic restoration and adaptive reuse of two Victorian masonry buildings and the addition of a new pavilion which houses practice studios, classrooms and a 1,135-seat hall. The architect is Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects.

The GFS Sustainable Urban Science Center in Philadelphia, designed by SMP Architects, is a lab classroom building featuring rainwater harvesting systems, green roofs and raingarden landscapes.

Photo Credit: Halkin Photography

The design firm worked with the Germantown Friends School to support student engagement in the lab — “within, around, and in some cases, on top of the facility,” according to association officials.

The Saguaro Building at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz., was designed by SmithGroup to organize a wide array of program elements, and is located on a preserved desert campus. Its black box theater is designed as an iconic element to “punctuate the campus’ presence amongst surrounding stucco strip malls,” officials said. Its two-story lobby is designed to serve as the student union with a cyber café and terrariums, along with other student support space.

 Photo Credit: Bill Timmerman

The Merit category includes the Learning Spring School in New York, the Springfield Literacy Center in Springfield, Pa., Gary Comer College Prep in Chicago and Marysville Getchell High School in Marysville, Washington
.

Also recognized in the Merit category were Park Shops in Raleigh, N.C., the James I Swenson Civil Engineering Building in Duluth, Minn., and the Center for Graduate Fellows in Charlottesville, Va.

Featured in the Citation category were the Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center in Pasadena, Calif.,
St. Albans School’s Marriott Hall in Washington, D.C., and PACCAR Hall at the Foster School of Business in Seattle.

For more details on the award-winning sites, visit AIA’s website at http://www.aia.org/. 

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