Growing enrollment and an increased demand for space to accommodate the district’s athletic programs led to the need for a new multipurpose stadium. This new facility will eliminate Noblesville’s issues of overcrowding at the district’s current stadium. The facility includes 50-percent more seating than the district’s current stadium along with locker rooms, practice fields, athletic training space, concessions, and restrooms. The stadium will be equipped with enhanced lighting and broadcast technology capabilities.
Project Tag: athletic facilities
Columbus East High School
Columbus East High School was designed in 1970 as a high school whose traditional program was delivered through a large seminar, small group study delivery system. Over the years the school has moved to a more traditional high school schedule but has retained the culture of openness and flexibility.
Building improvements and expansions were designed to retain the character of the original design, both internally and externally. The building entrance was relocated to the east side of the building to increase its visual presence and to allow a direct, accessible route into the building. The entire second floor was renovated and reconfigured to eliminate undersized classrooms and small, cramped storage spaces – resulting in an open, flexible student collaboration space with ample daylighting. New technology was installed in each classroom. New flexible furniture was incorporated into the new learning spaces. A new administrative wing and ten additional classrooms were included in the project. To provide adequate collaboration and work space for the faculty, each faculty member was provided a personal work space. The faculty spaces are grouped together to allow small groups of faculty to collaborate within their own space.
The existing pool structure was completely renovated and the pool replaced. A new addition to the PE and athletic building provides space for the school’s fitness and wrestling programs. An upgraded mechanical system allows improved zoning and year-round heating and cooling.
Homestead High School
Over the last several years the administration at Southwest Allen County Schools (SACS) began to dream about making major changes at Homestead High School (HHS). Primarily a single story building, students struggled to travel from one side to another during passing periods and there were few spaces able to facilitate informal student interactions or collaborative group work.
CSO was brought on board with local architect MKM and educational consultant Brain Spaces to begin programming and planning for the future Homestead. Extensive meetings with students, staff, parents, and community members quickly revealed immense support for changes at the high school and a desire for the building to better represent and support the students who walked its hallways. The design team collaborated to maximize the amount of new space to be constructed while leveraging portions of the existing facility to reach the desired program requirements.
The resultant design will include a new two story academic wing, large student commons, 3,000 seat completion gym, and 990 seat performing arts center. Nearly 400,000 sf will be added on to the existing high school before razing roughly 350,000 sf of existing structure. The remaining 300,000 sf will be extensively renovated ensure the ‘new’ building has the same look, feel, and function throughout.
Completing a project of this scale while keeping the existing building operational during construction will be a complex task requiring continued coordination between SACS, HHS, the design team, and the construction manager. The phased addition, renovation, and demolition is set to occur from July 2020 through December 2024. Once complete Homestead High School will finally have space to educate students for generations to come.