Career Technical Education
Foundation in Career-Focused Design
HMFH is a full-service architectural firm founded in 1969. Since completing its earliest school projects, HMFH has earned a national reputation for skillfully integrating informed educational planning and programming with award-winning design to create memorable, innovative learning environments. HMFH has a long history of successful career technical education (CTE) projects, from the addition of a CTE wing to Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 1980, to a complete campus redesign for Bristol County Agricultural High School in 2022. Our extensive knowledge of the complex and ever-changing technical requirements of CTE results in educational facilities that prepare students for success in the workforce.
Understanding of Career Technical Programs
Given the complex and highly technical nature of CTE programs, engaging a wide circle of advisors and experts throughout the design process is critical. Each program has a unique educational approach and set of requirements, and HMFH’s process uncovers these nuances to deliver a building that serves the needs of all its users.
We meet with teachers and department heads from each program, as well as outside advisors and school partners to understand high-level curricular goals and critical infrastructure, technology, and equipment needs. Visioning sessions and school visits with students reveal key insights about day-today program functions and elicit student input.
For Bristol County Agricultural High School, the design team collaborated closely with the Natural Resource Management department students and faculty to design a natural history museum, hosting a special design charrette to select the exhibits and discuss infrastructure requirements.
Optimal Adjacencies
The diverse offerings of career technical programs create opportunities for strategic adjacencies between programs. Grouping related disciplines fosters cross-program collaboration and enables the sharing of resources, ultimately resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective design.
At Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School , the visual arts classroom and an adjacent project area connect the metal fabrication shop with the central courtyard. Art students utilize the fabrication facilities for sculpture projects, and the courtyard becomes a showcase for student artwork.
Bristol-Plymouth’s layout is structured around career clusters, or groupings of CTE programs in related industries with similar spatial requirements and equipment needs.
Designing for Flexibility
Career technical design requires a truly flexible approach, from overall layout planning to infrastructure and technology in individual spaces.
HMFH designs schools that can be easily reorganized by department, grade level, or subject while maintaining a strong connection between traditional academics and CTE. Labs and shops contain ample open space, with walls that could be reconfigured or removed to accommodate future expansions. Overhead grid systems support the necessary infrastructure such as electrical, gas, air, and exhaust while maximizing flexibility, and bi-fold garage doors accommodate large projects, create easy transport of materials and equipment, and connect students to the outdoors.
“Designing a CTE center to meet critical functional needs, future technology, and industry standards is a complex undertaking.
HMFH’s expertise in bringing creative solutions that both achieved our immediate goals and prepared us for the future was astounding.”
TOM WALDRON | FORMER DEAN OF STUDENTS, DOVER HIGH SCHOOL & REGIONAL CAREER TECHNICAL CENTER
Public-Facing Programs
A successful school building not only accommodates the needs of students and faculty but also serves as a valuable resource for the surrounding community. In career technical schools, public-facing programs benefit from community access to gain real-world experience in their trade.
At Dover High School & Regional Career Technical Center, a central gathering area called the town square unifies core spaces including the cafeteria, gym, auditorium, and publicly-focused CTE programs in a hub for student activity. The Town Square welcomes students and community members alike and was pivotal in generating community buy-in for the project. Visitors can dine at the student-run restaurant, receive cosmetology services, have their blood pressure checked, attend a health and wellness class, see a play, or watch a basketball game.
“Our students and staff have always done such amazing work with so little, and with our new facilities, the sky is really the limit.”
KEVIN BRAGA | PRINCIPAL, BRISTOL COUNTY AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL
Selected Projects
Arlington High School Arlington, MA
Bristol County Agricultural High School Dighton, MA
Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School Taunton, MA
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School Cambridge, MA
Dover High School & Regional Career Technical Center Dover, NH
Everett High School Everett, MA
Hanover High School Hanover, MA
Middletown Middle High School Middletown, RI
Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School Rochester, MA