2017—Plano East Senior High School Health Sciences Academy

Plano ISD—Plano East Senior High School Health Sciences Academy
Architect: WRA Architects

Health sciences academy developed by the District with local community college. The facility provides state of the art training in many programs and awards college credit certifications in Health Information Management, Certified Nursing Assistant, Emergency Medical Technician, Medical Examiner, and others. Facility includes computer labs, hospital rooms, EMT apartment, Prosthetics, and Autopsy. Design includes full height glass between classrooms and corridors and multiple collaboration areas.

Design

District, college, and architect developed a design concept that would project a collegiate atmosphere. The merging of secondary and higher education in career disciplines is transforming the total learning process, but the architecture must enhance the process, not be a hindrance. Here, personnel from both the high school and the local community college collaborated at length to develop the jointly operated academy. Both groups then worked closely with the architect to design this facility.

Value

This project, being a collaborative development and jointly run by the high school and the community college is highly cost- effective by its shared operation. Both college and high school personnel worked directly with the architect to maximize the facility and minimize redundancies. Square footage reduced by designing most of the traditional corridor space as shared-use collaboration space. Only $134 per S.F., very reasonable considering expensive infrastructure required for medical equipment.

Sustainability

The most sustainable building possible is the reuse of a building that is already built, and 76% of this project was the interior renovation of an existing building. The project includes energy-reducing upgrades. Multi-purpose spaces reduce square footage and therefore energy consumption, while enhancing inter-departmental collaboration, improving the effectiveness of the learning environment. Sustainability features: motion sensors on lighting, high efficiency HVAC, low emissivity glazing.

CommunityCommunity—Star of Distinction

Community relevance was a prominent goal. District and community college jointly developed the program and vision for this resulting facility design. Community college students come to this high school campus for courses, and high school students earn certifications and transferable hours for college. This medical science academy is situated adjacent to the school’s fine arts and other career training facilities, providing effectively, a satellite campus to the college’s main campus nearby.

Planning

A long planning process led to the college-high school shared concept for this academy. Both community college and high school personnel worked directly with the architect to design this facility. Programs in demand but without facilities were prioritized, especially Health Information Management, Certified Nursing Assistant, Emergency Medical Technician, Medical Examiner, and others. The building layout was planned for quick access and egress since students regularly move between both campuses.

School TransformationTransformation—Star of Distinction

The merging of secondary and higher education in career-specific disciplines is transforming the total learning process, but the architecture must enhance that process, not be a hindrance. In this case, department heads from both the high school and the local community college collaborated at length to develop this joint-owned medical academy. Then, both groups worked closely with the architect to design a facility to accommodate, even inspire, the highest visions for this medical program.

Stars of Distinction Star of Distinction Category Winner