Recognizing the opportunity presented to renovate and update a top performing arts focused high school in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, Jeff worked closely with CCSD leadership to develop a design competition for the campus master plan development. This was a novel approach for the Clark County School District as architects are typically selected prior to any design ideas being discussed. The response to the competition was overwhelming. Nine project teams submitted high quality preliminary design packages for review by the building committee. After careful deliberation, the field was narrowed to three firms to refine their concepts. The three finalists presented their designs to the school.
Plans for the school are not just dreams of what the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts aspires to be, but a vision of the community in which the Academy thrives. The school community encompasses more than students, parents and staff; it is a community that is intertwined with the increased interest in the city’s art scene with the opening of the Smith Center and the growth of the downtown Arts District. The vision of the campus is inclusive of downtown residents, the Downtown Project, the City of Las Vegas, the local professional district, the local artists and performers, and decades of school alumni supporting excellence in education and the future of local creative, visual and performing arts.
The Las Vegas Academy of the Arts (LVAA) is a nationally recognized, award-winning magnet high school, serving approximately 1,700 students in Clark County, Nevada. Located in the center of the Las Vegas High School Historical District, the Las Vegas Academy serves students from throughout the district in grades 9 through12, giving the students the opportunity to pursue a major in band, vocal music, dance, guitar, international studies, mariachi, orchestra, photography, piano, studio art, technical theatre, theatre, visual design, and World Jazz studies. All students must meet a certain criteria for acceptance: completing an application, auditioning in their chosen performing major, preparing a portfolio, and/or taking an aptitude test. The intent of the master planning effort was to develop a strategy for the development of new structures and modernization of the existing structures to accommodate the continued growth and function of the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts for the next twenty years. In doing so, the proposed master plan had to be respectful of the historic context of the campus while anticipating the future needs of the modern magnet school curriculum. The proposed master plan also needed to carefully analyze and propose solutions for the major campus challenges such as on-campus parking and safety/security due to the porosity of the campus.
This process has allowed ideas to be explored and refined in a collaborative process which will lead to a campus that addresses the rigorous demands of a contemporary arts education while maintaining a reverence for the historical significance of the first comprehensive high school to be built in Las Vegas. In addition, the to project will act as a catalyst for the renewal of the surrounding urban area.
View Original