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Calif. High School Debuts New Competition-Sized Gym

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/24/23

San Rafael City Schools (SRCS) in San Rafael, Calif., recently celebrated the grand opening of a new competition-sized gymnasium at Terra Linda High School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) and BHM Construction for the 22,000-square-foot facility, which will play home to campus athletic events and whole-school assemblies and can serve as a community resource during emergencies.

The gym features amenities like weight and cardio conditioning spaces, team rooms, administrative space for student physical trainers and conferences, and a regulation-size court for basketball, volleyball, and other athletic competitions, the news release reports. The new space offers the capability to host league sporting events and to gather the entire school population for presentations or campus gatherings.

“This project successfully creates an improved new frontage environment for the TLHS campus, as well as for the neighborhood, with the addition of a new two-way bicycle pedestrian pathway and underground utilities,” said San Rafael City Schools Superintendent Jim Hogeboom. “In addition to providing comprehensive California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) regulation facilities to host athletic events, the new gymnasium will double as a much-anticipated community safety refuge in the event of emergency situations. With gratitude for the support that made Bond Measure B and this project possible, we hope to provide essential resources to our community at large.”

The space was designed to meet Collaborative for Higher Performance School (CHPS) guidelines to emphasize sustainability. These include the sustainable use of reclaimed water from dual piping for irrigation and sanitary facilities, daylight-responsive lighting, low-flow plumbing, high-efficiency HVAC powered by 60-percent renewable energy, and design-readiness for the potential future addition of solar power and a microgrid battery system, according to the press release.

“The strong partnerships forged between QKA, BHM, and the district resulted in an outstanding new facility which will enhance the TLHS campus and school community,” said QKA Principal Emeritus Steve Kwok. “Our expertise in high-performance education buildings allowed the design-build team to center the district’s priorities around making the building a safe and efficient campus landmark. Great emphasis was placed on the building’s environmental impact, including a permanent display on its sustainable features installed in the gymnasium lobby, which will serve as a learning tool for all entering the building.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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