First new prototype high school under construction in northwest

Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects' new prototype high school for the Clark County School District is built around a central mall that is divided into three zones: academic, activities and plaza.

The academic mall will contain all classrooms and laboratories and is divided into four zones, each with its own administration, student services and mix of classrooms. Students in all four of these "houses" will share science, visual arts and technology facilities. All classrooms will be wired with fiber optic cable as part of a local area network, including video projectors linked to a districtwide network. Wireless Internet access will also be available.

The activities mall will contain a 2,700-seat gymnasium, locker rooms, athletic facilities, a cafeteria and 450-seat performing arts theater that will allow for after-hours community access.

Where the academic and activities malls converge is the interior plaza, the main entry to the school and the hub of student activity. Windom Kimsey, a partner in the architectural firm, said a canopy and double row of trees will mark the entry to the building.

"People will walk into a big, open mall area that takes full advantage of the natural light," he said. "We also made opportunities for different colors and materials and areas where each school can paint its own logo to create its identity. We thought that was important. There will be some variations because of sites and slopes, but all of them will be oriented along the east-west axis, yet still be unique."

The first of at least five high schools in the new design is under construction on 38 acres at Buffalo and Grand Teton drives in the northwestern valley. It is scheduled to open in fall 2005 with 2,700 students in grades nine through 12. The 330,000-square-foot-facility will cost an estimated $45 million.

Other locations to feature the new design include a new Rancho High School at Owens Avenue and Bruce Street in North Las Vegas; a site on West Charleston Boulevard and Desert Foothills Drive in Summerlin, which goes out for bid in two months; a site in North Las Vegas; and another at Southern Highlands in the a southwestern valley.

To be phased in over five years, each school will be organized around a two-story mall that lets in sunlight, and that creates a controlled environment.

"It creates a really nice space for the kids," Kimsey said. "We've learned that in this climate exterior courtyards are not always favorable, so with this mall concept the students are in a controlled environment from a security perspective and a climate perspective. So on a really hot or windy day, they don't have to walk across a courtyard. And inside, kids like to see and be seen, so it's a dynamic space, the heart of the school."

Tate Snyder Kimsey's original high school design is the current standard in Southern Nevada, where three new schools will open in August for a total of 18.

Kimsey said since the completion of the first prototype in 1991, changes in curriculum and new standards for daylight and energy efficiency called for substantial design adaptations that are featured in the new design.

New area high schools will be oriented on an east-west axis to maximize daylight. Light will be controlled by overhangs and eyebrow shades.

The prototype received the 2002 American Institute of Architects Nevada Design Award and the 2002 Council of Educational Facility Planners International Project of Distinction.

Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects is based in Henderson.

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