Career Center Balances Design With Function
FRISCO, Texas — Located between a high school and community college, the Frisco Independent School District’s Career and Technical Education Center is perfectly situated for its function, according to planners.
The $33 million, 125,618-square-foot facility that opened September 2008 is designed to accommodate students from any of the four high schools in the district and provide a cross-collaborative curriculum for 11th and 12th grade students preparing for college or employment.
Dallas-based SHW Group was the architect and Cadence McShane managed construction of the building, which combines resources once scattered over multiple campuses into a single structure.
“We worked with both the school district and the students to develop a design that combines a traditional career and technology center with a prep center that offers advanced coursework for students,” says Mark Gerner, managing principle at SHW Group.
In order to imbue the educational center with real-world functionality, the design includes a full-service restaurant, a bank and credit union, a warehouse, copy center and mailroom. Students have access to TV and radio studios, a courtroom for mock trials, computer and animation labs, an architecture lab and medical and veterinary science labs. There is also a 4,000-square-foot greenhouse to support the horticulture program.
“The various activities and amenities offered at the CTE center teach our students skill sets and collaboration — qualities that are necessary to succeed in high-demand occupations in the 21st century’s competitive global economy,” says Wes Cunningham, director of career and technical education at Frisco ISD.
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The career center was designed to serve students from four high schools. |
In addition to labs and administrative offices, the school has an employee training area, a testing center and a variety of classrooms. IT technology provider Cisco sponsored one classroom.
The building’s exterior features masonry with composite metal and zinc accent panels. The interior features exposed structural systems of steel and wood.
The central atrium of the building displays a two-story flat-screen media wall with 15 individual screens designed to showcase student course work. Students in the marketing program can collaborate with students in the TV and radio programs to write and produce advertisements promoting sales and campus activities, school officials say.