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Post a commentNew Harriton High School has some green with admiration
Lower Merion School District celebrated the start of the school year by holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $100 million Harriton High School.
The new 330,000-square-foot school, located in Rosemont, was built on the same site of the old Harriton High School, adjacent to the old facility built in 1957.
The building, designed by KCBA Architects, has sustainable characteristics that made it a candidate for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
Items that contribute to the building’s LEED certification and estimated future energy cost savings are the building’s storm water management system, the building’s ability to recycle rain water for use in the facility’s toilets, windows that encourage the use of natural light, and the installation of lights that brighten or dim based on natural light levels.
“We made a commitment early on in the process to build buildings that were environmentally friendly and sensitive. That is a gift we can give to the community and the students,” said district spokesman Doug Young.
A dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Oct. 18 for the new building that opened in September. The public was able to tour and view the inside of the new school at the ceremony.
The building’s new technological features include a music production lab complete with electronic keyboards, wireless internet, a television studio for video production and editing, digital projection systems and interactive white boards in classrooms.
The school also features a black box theater space with lighting and theater sound, science laboratories, art and music classrooms, a greenhouse, a lecture hall, two new gymnasiums, a smaller gym space for dance, wresting or yoga, a fitness and weight room and an 850-seat auditorium.
The new high school’s enrollment capacity is set at about 1,250 students. Site work preparation for the new Harriton High School began in 2006, and the construction process began in 2007.
Construction was completed at Harriton by the end of August.
Site work, such as the demolition of the old Harriton High School, will be completed over the winter. After it’s demolition, the site of the old high school will be transformed to parking lots and playing fields.
The planning for the new high school project was part of a long-term initiative to update the district’s 10 school buildings. The one project remaining, Lower Merion High School, is estimated to be completed next fall and will be the site of the district’s pool.
According to Young, the two high schools will be approximately equal in size, amenities and cost upon Lower Merion’s completion.
“Planning for the modernization of our school facilities began about 10 years ago as a decade-long capital improvement program,” Young said.
According to Young, the two buildings were originally evaluated for renovations, however the district found it would be more cost effective to build new high school facilities rather than renovate.
“We needed to provide for the district’s educational program as it exists in 2009 and create spaces that would be flexible for the next 70 or 80 years,” Young said.
The new 330,000-square-foot school, located in Rosemont, was built on the same site of the old Harriton High School, adjacent to the old facility built in 1957.
The building, designed by KCBA Architects, has sustainable characteristics that made it a candidate for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
Items that contribute to the building’s LEED certification and estimated future energy cost savings are the building’s storm water management system, the building’s ability to recycle rain water for use in the facility’s toilets, windows that encourage the use of natural light, and the installation of lights that brighten or dim based on natural light levels.
“We made a commitment early on in the process to build buildings that were environmentally friendly and sensitive. That is a gift we can give to the community and the students,” said district spokesman Doug Young.
A dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Oct. 18 for the new building that opened in September. The public was able to tour and view the inside of the new school at the ceremony.
The building’s new technological features include a music production lab complete with electronic keyboards, wireless internet, a television studio for video production and editing, digital projection systems and interactive white boards in classrooms.
The school also features a black box theater space with lighting and theater sound, science laboratories, art and music classrooms, a greenhouse, a lecture hall, two new gymnasiums, a smaller gym space for dance, wresting or yoga, a fitness and weight room and an 850-seat auditorium.
The new high school’s enrollment capacity is set at about 1,250 students. Site work preparation for the new Harriton High School began in 2006, and the construction process began in 2007.
Construction was completed at Harriton by the end of August.
Site work, such as the demolition of the old Harriton High School, will be completed over the winter. After it’s demolition, the site of the old high school will be transformed to parking lots and playing fields.
The planning for the new high school project was part of a long-term initiative to update the district’s 10 school buildings. The one project remaining, Lower Merion High School, is estimated to be completed next fall and will be the site of the district’s pool.
According to Young, the two high schools will be approximately equal in size, amenities and cost upon Lower Merion’s completion.
“Planning for the modernization of our school facilities began about 10 years ago as a decade-long capital improvement program,” Young said.
According to Young, the two buildings were originally evaluated for renovations, however the district found it would be more cost effective to build new high school facilities rather than renovate.
“We needed to provide for the district’s educational program as it exists in 2009 and create spaces that would be flexible for the next 70 or 80 years,” Young said.
