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.
Locker rooms will be built between the lower commons and the gym and solve the problem of overcrowding that happened anytime athletic practices overlapped. The north wall of the upper commons will become a showcase space for the achievements of a wide variety of students, not just athletes.
The upper and lower commons will function as the new cafeteria and will have a variety of seating options, which will include an outside eating area leading up to the entrance of the new competition gym. The cafe-style seating will allow students to sit alone or in a group. The new space will prevent students from having to cram into the library, which was the only spot for studying and socializing.
- Competition Gymnasium
- Expanded Areas for Dining and Studying
- Mechanical System Upgrades
- Accessibility Upgrades
- Locker Room Renovations
- Expanded Athletic Spaces
The district sought updates to improve the student experience and invest in the future of education.
The renovations expanded the district’s wellness and athletics facilities, reinvented the student lunch experience, and created future opportunities for additional educational programs.
"All this coming together makes our already historic and beautiful campus just absolutely phenomenal. It's going to be the ideal balance of historic beauty with modern functionality."
- John Bacon, Principal, Iowa City High School
The design includes a second dome, which will tie the new addition to the historical look of the original building.
The original aesthetic received a nod from Architectural Digest in 2017, calling it the most beautiful high school in Iowa.
The new 81,500 s.f. Ellsworth Dansby Jr. Magnet School will house K8 students with environments that revolve around student-focused learning. Flexible and collaborative work spaces will be incorporated to engage students to work in small groups.
This transformational educational environment is designed to support diverse students in learning through future-focused methods. Intentional features like operable walls and flexible seating facilitate easy collaboration and project-based learning. Additionally, bilingual teams and faculty can share students without leaving the classroom area, promoting seamless support.
Unsure of whether to remodel their historic middle school, build new on the existing site near their current high school, or build new on a different site, the Maroa-Forsyth School District reached out to get community input via BLDD's community engagement process.