One of the priorities identified as part of a Master Plan process with Cathedral High School was the need for a STEM-focused Innovation Center.
Project Details
Informal Study Area Encourages Interaction and Connection
Previously, there were not spaces within the school that allowed for classes to break out into smaller groups or spaces to accommodate informal study sessions with direct access to instructors. A new study area now provides a space for students to break out of the adjacent classrooms to work on group projects and study after school as a group or individually.
Where STEM Learning Meets Real-World Innovation
The Innovation Center is home to modern STEM classrooms and laboratories for Cathedral’s Math & Science Academy, engineering and robotics programs, and more.
Enhancing Efficiency
In Cathedral’s previous traditional education model, the classroom and lab areas were separate spaces within the same classroom, forcing one of the areas to go unused. The new design accommodates multiple labs and classes at the same location, increasing collaboration and allowing for an increase in efficiency in new and existing spaces.
New Cafeteria Creates a Destination for Students
The Innovation Center also contains the relocated dining and kitchen space in the lower level, allowing students a more flexible approach to food service and more options to the traditional lunch period. An additional Café allows students to utilize a “grab-n-go” concept during the day.
CSO’s unwavering commitment to understanding Cathedral’s goals for the project resulted in an Innovation Center design which exceeded the school’s expectations. We could not have worked with a better team, They were responsive to our wants and needs, quick to respond, and extremely professional. The whole process was easy. “
–Grace Rodecap, Cathedral High School Director of Marketing
As quoted in Building Excellence Magazine
A New Front Door to Campus
The Innovation Center was designed and constructed as an addition to Kelly Hall. To acheive the square footage goals of the project, the existing main entry would need to be replaced.
Preserving Iconic History
Generations of Cathedral students and staff entered the building through the main entry in Kelly Hall. When it was determined that the addition would encompass the main entry, designers opted to retain the original entry and original access to Kelly Hall by incorporating it into the new design. The new addition incorporates a three-story open atrium between the old Kelly Hall and the architecture of the new addition. Exterior materials used on the addition are blonde brick (same used on SLC), glass, metal panel and stone veneer panels. The old limestone façade of Kelly Hall was preserved as a feature of the new, glass-enclosed front entrance.
