McKinney ISD—McKinney North High School
Architect: Stantec
Additions and Renovations to an existing High school to expand fine arts; enhance the Career and Technical Education programs in the fields of Health Science, Robotics, and Aviation; improve safety and security of all students; address end of life items; and update the aesthetics of the building to help with lowering enrollment.
Design
- Strategically locating the additions and renovations to maximize impact on school’s culture and image
- Diverse learning environments that allow students to create, design, and learn with technology to support the district’s 1:1 MacBook initiative
- Enhanced CTE spaces that reflect relevant work environments
Value
- In-depth analysis of existing facility against what was needed allowed designers to strategically add and renovate the high school to maximize the impact on every student
- Location of additions and renovations were in areas of highest impact while spending less than $120/sf over 148,000-square feet
- Selection of materials and systems was evaluated on first time and lifecycle cost to maximize life and durability of the building
Sustainability
- Building Reuse – used over 75% of the existing building by strategically choosing areas of demolition, alteration, and new addition
- Low emitting materials in carpet, paint, and finishes to have improved indoor air quality
- Regionally-sourced building materials
- Input from over 100 participants from the community including students, parents, administration, and industry partners during planning
- Relationship with 2 colleges, 3 hospitals, 20 businesses, and 40 professionals to provide mentorship, certifications, and internships to advance learning opportunities
Planning
- Community engagement started before bond election and included school district administration, students, parents, and community members in the planning process
- Overarching goal was to create a modern student-centric learning environment that embraces diverse learning styles and learning with technology
School Transformation
- Transformed the school image to reflect a professional learning environment
- Creating diverse spaces to support independent and group learning, help desk to support student devices, and infrastructure to allow students to learn with technology anywhere
- Integration of a 24-hour school to help students recover or gain credit outside regular school hours
- Providing a wide variety of enrichment programs to keep students interested and excited about their educational goals
Star of Distinction Category Winner