Project Description
The design of the new Frederick High School is intended to visually recollect the previous school building, which was of sentimental value to the community, while providing new state-of-the-art teaching and learning programs and spaces. Following the principles of modern educational design, the new building is organized around a central core, which represents the heart of the building, and includes large, open, and flexible dining, commons, and enclosed courtyard areas. Besides serving as a main public gathering and circulation space, the heart provides a clear circulation path through the building and can be accessed through dual entrances, creating a social hub of activity.
Supporting a dynamic and flexible curriculum, spaces were programmed to adapt to varied teaching and learning styles and changing pedagogies. General classrooms function as they do in a higher education environment, able to accommodate multiple subjects in the same morning, while a variety of collaboration spaces with varying levels of privacy facilitate project-based learning, mixed learning, and group work.
By involving students and teachers throughout the planning and design process through a comprehensive engagement plan, they have returned the effort in-kind in the form of elevated performance. As a result, the new school has raised the bar for student achievement, with many referring to the facility as the “University of Frederick.”