Dubiski High School is a 2,000 student capacity Career and Technology High School for the Grand Prairie Independent School District. The premise was to make high school education more relevant, reducing the drop out rate and producing qualified graduates.
The four-story, 245,000 SF structure is designed to accommodate the unique programmatic needs of this high school, including specific career track diploma programs. The project goals were to:
1. Provide an environment conducive to learning
2. Provide a dynamic and professional environment that fosters the elevation of spirit
3. Design in harmony with the physical environment, conscious of the immediate surroundings, energy use and sustainability
This school prepares students to enter the professional workplace. The classroom wings “spin off” a central four-story atrium, where all the schools can mix. Small, informal break out spaces provide marker boards and projectors outside the classrooms.
The physical environment dictated many features of the design. Pre-cast panels on the south and west sides of the building buffer highway noise for occupants and provide thermal mass on those exposures. The building is conditioned using a geothermal HVAC system. The north and east sides open up with more windows, bringing in natural light to occupants.
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