Douglas High School

The site for the school, which is fronted by an abandoned gravel quarry with a 90-foot grade change from entry to arrival, created challenges in the design. The severity of the site required terracing, a switchback progression for vehicular circulation, and improvements to the town’s water supply and sewage systems.
Clever planning reinforces the idea of discovery; the school is revealed gradually during the progression up the driveway. Upon arrival at the school’s entrance, parking and site amenities are laid down in a radial sequence, directly complementing a diagonal programmatic split separating large-group spaces from the smaller academic areas within the school community.
The programmatic split activates the main entrance as a hub of activity and creates spaces for major core elements: the library, cafeteria and gym. Finally, the academic clusters behind the interface are broken linearly, and common areas are present in each cluster, creating a safe and healthy learning environment.

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