Project Examples and Details

Addition

Science Laboratory

Project Challenge

The existing main school building had extremely restrictive floor-to-floor heights making it a challenge to fit modern structures and systems while maintaining floor elevations. The soils on this site are very poor and required deep foundations for stability.

Grosse Pointe Public School System had a growing need to upgrade their science labs throughout their District. The community responded and passed a bond that would allow them to construct this four-floor addition to North High School with fourteen state-of-the- art laboratory classrooms. Each lab includes fully equipped workstations for up to 32 students and a separate, adjacent lecture area. Special labs include a micro-biology research facility, a greenhouse-environmental laboratory-classroom and provisions for a roof top observatory and future vertical classroom expansion.

The exterior walls are load-bearing masonry with clay brick. This brick was selected to be compatible with the rest of the campus which was built in 1970. This addition with its glazing tower becomes the campuses focal point, drawing eyes as visitors drive down the tree lined entrance boulevard. The modern blend interior design features include brick lined corridors, green lab counter tops, and resilient tile floor medallions located at each corridor intersection.