Our contributions to Pella High School realize part of the district-wide master plan we helped Pella Community Schools complete in 2012.
We referenced the school’s original 1960 façade wherever possible for visual continuity. Warm-toned cement board and glass present a dignified front entry. Inside, glass partitions allow staff to monitor those entering and exiting
We were not the first architects to help Pella High School grow; the 1960’s building had already been added to four times before. Those incremental efforts had left behind floor level changes and transitions that now hindered accessibility for some students.
A student lounge renovation turned out to provide the perfect place-making solution. It allowed us to anchor the school’s circulation and resolve many of the level change difficulties. Dynamic spaces now provide a forum for students to congregate between classes or before and after auditorium performances. New skylights help the ensemble breath, allowing natural light deep into the interior.
Elsewhere, subtle spatial tweaks and some programmatic shuffling carve space for a reinvigorated art program while our own addition (the building’s fifth and finest!) accommodates wrestling, a fitness room, and a dining commons.
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