Orange County Public Schools Debut Two New High Schools

SchenkelShultz Architecture announced last week that it has completed two new high schools for Orange County Public Schools. Horizon High School and Lake Buena Vista High School, respectively located in the Winter Garden and Dr. Phillips areas of Orange County, Fla., will each include room for 2,700 students in the nation’s eighth-largest school district.

“Our goal in the design of these two campuses was to balance cost efficiency and functionality with a modern, 21st-century learning environment for students,” said David Torbert, Partner and Education Leader at SchenkelShultz. “The multi-use academic spaces support small-scale learning communities, multi-modal instruction, and project-based learning with the courtyard providing a place to extend learning, connection and collaboration beyond the classroom.”

Horizon High School
Photo credit: SchenkelShultz Architecture

According to a news release, both schools feature a centralized courtyard and an auditorium, gymnasium and media center up front for easy after-hours access by students and parents. The administration building offers a single, secure point of entry for each school’s entire campus. Other security features at both campuses include a full security system and cameras, a two-way emergency radio system, a voice-evacuation fire alarm system, fence-lined perimeters, card reader entrance controls, and a permanent generator.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Acquires VPS Architecture

    Full-service planning, architecture, and engineering firm Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has acquired VPS Architecture, according to a news release. The move will help strengthen Wold’s education and public-sector design expertise, industries in which both companies have strong pre-existing ties and relationships.