04/08/2024
The KCBA team is thrilled to share that the new Avon Grove High School in Chester County, PA is the recipient of an Outstanding Project Award in Learning By Design Magazine’s Spring 2024 Awards of Excellence Showcase.
Opened for the 2022-2023 school year, the project entailed the development of a 153-acre farm tract into a comprehensive new high school campus where a range of flexible, collaborative, and project-based spaces are interwoven to provide a dynamic platform for learning and development. The new school houses 1750 students but is master planned to expand in the future for up to 2200 using existing common spaces.
The building is organized to achieve the school district’s mandate to support robust programs in academics, arts, and athletics. After gaining entry through a security checkpoint, visitors arrive at a 3-story central academic zone surrounded by the media center, bi-level student commons with learning stair, and two specially outfitted exterior courtyards. A programmatic highlight is the prevalence of innovative spaces to support education in technical fields such as digital arts and graphic design, jewelry design, business, computer science, media studies, textiles and fashion, culinary arts, and advanced materials. Other notable elements include a performing arts suite with a range of dedicated rehearsal spaces and a 1,000-seat auditorium as well as an athletics complex with both competition and auxiliary gyms and a weight room and fitness lab.
The Learning By Design jury of four architects and educational facility professionals commented, “Avon Grove High School’s innovative design features loud and quiet courtyards that provide safe outdoor areas for various school activities. The distribution of project-based spaces throughout the campus promotes interdisciplinary learning and community engagement. Clear entry sequences, distributed administrative offices, and sophisticated exterior materials enhance the overall functionality and aesthetic appeal of the school.”
This awards program is dedicated to disseminating best practices in educational facility design to a wide audience of educators and facility planners. KCBA is honored to be an awardee for the third straight year after Altoona Area High School in 2023 and Veterans Memorial Elementary School in 2022.
