Chartiers Valley School District High School

Chartiers Valley School District had recently completed a district-wide facilities study that determined that doing nothing would be the most expensive option due to the deteriorated state of the facilities, inefficiencies of existing mechanical systems, coupled with the rising cost of utilities. The District decided to move forward with a plan to improve their facilities and provide state-of-the-art educational environments for their students.

IKM worked with more than 70 parents, students, community members, teachers, administrators, and school board members in multiple collaborative planning and design workshops. These were vital to uncover what is important to each of the stakeholders for a progressive learning environment. The result was a comprehensive set of guiding principles that became the basis for the design solution.

The High School project included a combination of renovation and new construction. The primary components were the demolition of existing circular academic spaces including the library and administrative offices. These elements were replaced with a new four-story academic tower adjacent to a new three-story atrium space that serves as the Students Commons. The Performing Arts department underwent a complete renovation and new space was constructed for the Applied Engineering and Fine Arts programs. The existing S-Building, Main Gym, Auxiliary Gym, and Natatorium were all preserved and integrated into the overall design so they can continue to serve the district in their current form. No students were displaced during the construction process.