Thinking BIG for Education
Mattoon school district's LIFT (Leaders Innovating for Tomorrow) houses a regional innovation center for the surrounding 28 school districts in the area.
Expanding the junior high into a 5-8 facility, a 5th grade wing will be added to the junior high to accommodate growing enrollment, adding five highly functioning learning spaces and a new unit office. New lockers will be added to the 6th grade wing, which will also be the new home of the enhanced junior high weight room.
Following a successful year-long master planning process, designed to address concerns of aging infrastructure and facility inequities, Lanphier High School was identified as a top priority for revitalization among the district's three high schools.
Palmyra R-1 School District has a long-standing tradition of basketball success and needed a complete refresh and rebranding of their existing gymnasium along with a new commons area.
Faced with outdated high school facilities, an extensive community engagement planning process identified and assisted in prioritizing needs; ensuring a successful plan.
The project at New Berlin's Junior/Senior High School will provide modern facilities for all grade levels in the district to learn and grow. The additions and renovations aim to reorganize and enhance core educational spaces, creating a clear sense of place for both junior high and senior high school students. While different grade levels will have age-appropriate spaces, shared areas will be centrally located for easy access.
Despite facing significant obstacles, including a flood-prone location and limitations on modifying existing structures, the district persevered, eventually resulting in a groundbreaking new building addition that redefined the school’s entrance and functionality.
This renovation and new addition project turned into an opportunity to not only unify an outdated and disconnected school building, but also bring unification to a student body and community.
After completing a community engagement process and passing a referendum, this district’s iconic, historic building received much needed upgrades. This high-achieving district now features facilities that are up to par with their high-quality academic, fine arts and athletic performance standards.
From 2018 to 2023, the district embarked on a series of transformative renovations aimed at enhancing learning environments at North Technical High School. These projects ranged from upgrading security and administrative areas to creating new, state-of-the-art spaces for their cosmetology and dental sciences programs, as well as modernizing the welding shop. The renovations were designed to cater to the unique needs of students and staff, creating inspiring spaces that foster education and career development.
With an already thriving program, the planning of this facility and its location needed to be tightly knit into other district programs, such as athletics and general education. A key consideration was also the ability to expand program offerings in the future, through enlarged facilities and features which could include on-site gardens, crops or additional livestock support.
With the implementation of a county-wide sales tax that provided additional funds to public schools across the region, the Mt. Zion School board wanted to invest funds into facilities that bolstered the community's small town traditions. The new athletics field house and auditorium within Mt. Zion High School provide ample space for a myriad of academic and civic events.
The Mahomet-Seymour School District wanted to take advantage of their high school expansion to create an image that reflected the strong civic pride in their school’s education, music and athletic programs.
The design for the Knoxville High School began with visioning workshops to determine the desired educational practices and programs. After understanding the variety of learning environments recommended to meet the needs of 21st century curriculum and instruction, BLDD's task was to group these learning environments into a cohesive organization that facilitates a seamless delivery of the educational program.
The new high school addition provides spaces that are flexible and have more than one function. Moveable walls, reconfigurable furniture, shared faculty offices, and multi-functional spaces create a 21st century learning environment in a smaller footprint.
Phase 2 of the Pleasant Plains High School Additions and Remodel serves as an extension of the Phase 1 project, completed in 2012. The second phase completes the expansion of the high school into a 600-student school.
At 50 years old, the Eisenhower High School for the Decatur Public School District was physically worn, and functionally ineffective. The school district conducted a community engagement planning process to determine how best to meet the current and future educational aspirations of the community.
Through renovations and an addition to a 1950s-era building on a tight city footprint, an engaging, innovative and inviting high school, focused on providing modern facilities to support digital learning, academic achievement and fine arts and athletic excellence was developed. While the student population was highly achieving, the existing school did not reflect the student merit.
Following successful community engagement resulting in a $200 million bond referendum, Iowa City is poised to update City High School with an addition and renovation. The project includes a new gymnasium that will have two floors, seating up to 2,000 at athletic events on all four sides. Fans will pass through a new plaza area on their way to the gym entrance.
The Community Engagement Planning Process with Meridian CUSD #15 resulted in a clear direction, to reduce the number of campuses from four to two and concentrate resources to make these remaining two campuses healthy, safe, and educationally relevant.
A competition gym addition, with secure entry and office suite, increases health and wellness opportunities for students and staff, while addressing the district-wide space shortage for student activities. The addition serves as a new front door for visitors, creating a positive first impression for Heyworth CUSD #4.
Cerro Gordo CUSD #100 was facing outdated facilities, overcrowding, and needed some serious security updates. To solve these problems, this district was renovated to include a connecting addition to the original 1929 three-story HS building and the 1963 cafeteria/gymnasium building.
With a building of over 175 years old, Springfield PSD was looking for renovations to bring existing conditions back to its original state of the art facility standards.