Columbia City High School
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Project Case Study
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A Smarter Approach to High School Education Columbia City High School is the first completely new high school designed and built in Indiana since 2012. The 295,000 SF facility replaces a 1958 building which was created for a 20th century education. Design of the new high school allows Columbia City educators to apply a 21st century curriculum focused on graduation pathways, collaborative learning and real-world experiences. The school also features advanced security techniques and extensive community use facilities.
S T R AT E G I E S E M P LOY E D :
• 21st century learning environments • Graduation pathways • New Tech programs • Flexible spaces • Advanced security techniques • Modern performing arts spaces • State-of-the-art athletic facilities • Community use of schools
“Our community’s values and beliefs are reflected in the new Columbia City High School,” says Dr. Patricia O’Connor, superintendent of Whitley County Consolidated Schools. “Because we value our students and their success, it was critical to create the best educational environment in a school building of the highest quality.”
$74.2
295,000 2020
million in construction costs
new square feet
1,200
1st
student capacity
new public high school in Indiana since 2012
completion date
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C O LU M B I A C I T Y H I G H S C H O O L
Rethinking Education
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The resulting design is based on the school-within-aschool model, with two distinct instructional options in one school building. Eagle Tech Academy offers a four-year program from Freshman through Senior years, while the rest of the campus is composed of five learning academies. The high school design is a flexible model that allows for program changes in future years. Each academy is anchored by a central collaboration space with flexible furniture and seating. The design reduces the amount of casework in each classroom. Instead, mobile bookcases, desks, and even a mobile teacher’s station provide maximum choice. Each academy also has small group rooms, a teacher planning area where educators can collaborate between classes, and special education classrooms designed to meet the academic and social needs of special education students.
C O LU M B I A C I T Y H I G H S C H O O L LE A R N I N G AC A D E M I E S • Freshman • Sophomores • Business, Entrepreneurship and Communications (BEC) • Health & Human Services Academy (HHS) • Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology (MET) • Eagle Tech
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“The overlapping layers of collaborative space will strengthen relationships between students and teachers and provide for a more meaningful learning experience.” – W I LLI A M PAY N E , A I A , P R OJ E C T E X E C U T I V E
Fanning Howey
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Glass walls allow students to study alone in an easily-supervised fhai.com 7 environment.
Specially-designed faculty rooms give teachers a chance to collaborate fhai.com 7 and learn from each other.
C O LU M B I A C I T Y H I G H S C H O O L
Supporting Graduation Pathways
In 2018, the Indiana State Legislature passed a law requiring graduation pathways for all Indiana high school students. The design of the new Columbia City High School allowed Whitley County Consolidated Schools to easily incorporate these requirements in their curriculum. Graduation pathways were chosen in collaboration with local business input during the planning process. SCHOOL-WITHIN-A-SCHOOL The highly-successful Eagle Tech Academy is a school-within-aschool, with its own entrance and identity. Operable glass walls connect each classroom and the large collaboration space. The design allows students to work in smaller classroom environments or to open up the walls and hold Academy-wide assemblies for all 400 students.
A P P R OAC H TO G R A D UAT I O N PAT H WAYS • skills-focused learning environments • community room designed to support quarterly meetings between high school administrators and local business representatives • cutting-edge technology infrastructure to provide students with virtual learning and mentoring experiences from local businesses
CAREER TRAINING The design of the remaining academies includes specialized spaces to support specific career training. The Business, Entrepreneurship and Communications Academy has a television, radio and podcasting suite, including a space designed specifically for the local radio station. The Health & Human Services Academy features a medical/emergency response training room. And in the Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology Academy, students have access to pre-engineering equipment and CNC machines donated by local companies. Reflecting the nature of the rural community, the school also has one of the most advanced Agriculture suites in the state of Indiana. The suite includes flexible agriculture classrooms, a project-ready high bay space, a welding lab, a small animal area, a greenhouse and a food science lab where students can learn to prepare the food they grow.
A B OV E | Eagle Tech Academy has its own entrance located on the east side of the building.
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Engineering Lab
First Responders Project Lab
Greenhouse, part of a large Agriculture wing fhai.com
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C O LU M B I A C I T Y H I G H S C H O O L
Supercharging Collaboration
The heart of Columbia City High School is a 7,083 SF Grand Commons that is one of the largest continuous learning environments in the state of Indiana. It is the town square, where students meet for small group study, for dining or for socializing. Its flexible arrangement and central location also support everything from school assemblies and dances to surge space for athletic or performing arts events. Located right next to the Grand Commons is the school’s Innovation Center. This modern media center is one-fifth the size of a traditional high school library. It houses a collection of only 1,200 books, but provides multiple computer stations to allow students to pursue technology-based learning. The soft seating and flexible furniture in the nearby Grand Commons allows students to flow back and forth from the Innovation Center as needed.
A B OV E | A glass-enclosed collaboration space on the second floor provides a VIP-level view of the central commons.
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Located next to the Grand Commons, the Innovation Center is a modern high school library. It houses a collection of only 1,200 books, but provides students with flexible seating, a digital media lab and a two-story makerspace.
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For students looking to work outdoors, an interior Legacy Courtyard allows students to experience a relaxing and secure environment for group work and study. The courtyard is positioned in the center of the academies and has direct access from the academic wing hallway and the first floor classrooms.
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C O LU M B I A C I T Y H I G H S C H O O L
Sports, Culture and Community Resources In Indiana communities, the school is the center of public life, and Columbia City is no exception. The high school’s design supports community use of multiple amenities, including athletics and performing arts spaces. PERFORMING ARTS The school’s performing arts wing is anchored by a 636-seat auditorium with state-of-the-art lighting and sound technology. Support spaces include an ADA-accessible orchestra pit, a scene shop, a props area, a costume shop and two dressing rooms. Community performing arts groups will rent and use the facilities. The design of the auditorium includes a sawtooth connector for the ceiling to provide a better acoustical experience. Other performing arts spaces include band and choir rooms, complete with practice rooms, as well as space for show choir.
A COMMUNIT Y CAMPUS • new football stadium and track, sports fields • outdoor learning lab with WiFi access • Memorial Garden honoring Columbia City High School students who have been lost over the years • walking trail that will eventually connect to a biking and walking trail owned by the City at the north end of the site
ATHLETICS The athletic wing has a 3,140-seat main gymnasium with a perimeter jogging track and an auxiliary gymnasium with three full courts. Support spaces include offices, strength training, wrestling, locker rooms, a training room, a conference room and a Spirit shop.
COMMUNITY PRIDE To secure the high school’s status as the heart of the community, the design incorporates multiple aspects of Columbia City’s past. The athletic wing includes a trophy room with a touch screen monitor where visitors can look at pictures of past championship teams or peruse digitized yearbooks. At the south end of the gymnasium is the Hall of Champions, with acrylic plaques featuring inducted student athletes, while on the east side of the gym is a records board displaying personal bests in various sports. The history of Columbia City is also celebrated in a map of the town located in the Innovation Center and in a mural in the learning commons, where students can see a timeline of each of the township schools that came before the new high school.
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A B OV E | The 120-acre campus includes cutting-edge sports fields and outdoor learning environments.
3,140-seat main gymnasium
Hall of Champions fhai.com
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T R I S TA R C A R E E R C O M PAC T
Student dining area and school branding fhai.com
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636-seat auditorium fhai.com
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Outdoor sports complex and synthetic turf sports field fhai.com
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OHIO 128 West Market St Celina, OH 45822 419.586.7771 4930 Bradenton Ave Suite 200 Dublin, Ohio 43017 614.764.4661 INDIANA 350 East New York St Suite 300 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317.848.0966 fhai.com