Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Franklin High School Project Recognized for 2015 Starnet Commercial Flooring Grand Prize & Gold Award

  • 06/04/15

Milwaukee, Wis. – Franklin High School was awarded the Gold Award in the Education category for Starnet’s 2015 Worldwide Commercial Flooring Design Awards. Additionally, the project captured the prestigious 2015 Grand Prize project award, recognized as the best project of all the submissions. As a result, Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) was awarded $5,000 to donate to a charity of choice. EUA has chosen to donate the prize money back to the Franklin Educational Foundation to support the high education standards of the district.

Franklin High School’s primary goal was to create transparent spaces that encouraged active learning separate from academic areas. A strong emphasis was placed upon designing a sense of flow and movement within the space to form a fluid environment for students. Throughout the school, each department had the opportunity to communicate their unique ideas, while contributing to the comprehensive brand and identity of the school. Incorporating the district’s idea of “learning anytime, anywhere,” classrooms were designed with advanced acoustics and the ability to support many flexible furniture arrangements.

The school is centered around a common hub for students that demonstrates the environments of higher education institutions and future workplaces. Carpet is used throughout the seating areas to cleanly integrate with the tile flooring and provide continuity in these open spaces. To break up the length of the long hallways, the design team integrated form and color to enhance the flooring visually and aesthetically. To display the strong school pride, the project was completed using an array of yellows, golds and the school colors.

“We are excited to be recognized for this National award, and it is made all better because we can give back to the district to help excel program initiatives” said Bob Vajgrt, Director of the Education Market for EUA. “I’d also like to commend Emily Thomas, for her high quality efforts with developing functional but innovative carpet patterns to excel the environment of this school, I believe that this aesthetic improvement will improve the student perception of the high school’s spaces.”

Featured

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • Designing the Bridge Between Inclusivity and Independence in K–12 Schools

    Fostering independence is fundamental to learning and development for K–12 students. It offers many proven benefits, such as enhanced confidence, problem-solving, decision-making, and social skills. However, this foundational objective loses its impact if it’s not accessible and adaptable to all students. Inclusivity plays a critical role in cultivating independence and healthy autonomy for students, fostering positive student learning outcomes by uniting pedagogy with the physical learning environment.

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.