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Westside High School
Omaha
Leo A Daly Company
Curriculum Dictates Change in this
High School Renovation
© Paul Brokering |
For
more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above.
To see the people and products
behind this project click on 'people & products.'
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Located on a tight urban site, the original
40-year-old facility was crowded and aging. Major changes
had to occur to bring the deteriorating high school known
for its scholastic excellence into the twenty-first century.
A $27.5 million bond issue was passed to make the 300,000
square-foot renovation and 80,000 square foot expansion possible.
The school has become a working prototype
of a very forward-thinking curriculum. The facility is designed
around a three-leveled Instructional Material Center, which
serves as the center of information gathering by students
and teachers as well as the main organizing element of the
school. It consists of a library, a high-tech laboratory,
student areas for collaborative studies, and workstations
for faculty.
The architects brightened up the original
building by locating a cafeteria with a curved wall of windows
facing the main school entry and commons. This inviting space
has become a magnet for students seeking a sunlit gathering
area. A geo-thermal ground contact heat pump system provides
free heating and cooling to the school from natural sources
year-round.
Formal name
of building:
Westside High School
Location:
Omaha
Gross square
footage:
380,000 Sq. Ft.
Total construction
cost:
$25 Million
Owner:
District 66, Westside Community Schools
Architect's
firm:
Leo A Daly Company
8600 Indian Hills Drive
Omaha, NE 68114
Telephone: 402/391-8111
FAX: 402/391-8564
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