Studio KLP designs monumental high school under tight budget constraints
Project pushed our limits and challenged us to create a stately, lasting community hub
As the architect of record for the six-year project, Studio KLP faced a formidable challenge right from the start.
Our team needed to design a sturdy, timeless building that the community could be proud of. It had to be highly functional and also stately. After all, the new school building replaces and consolidates three high schools that each stood for more than 100 years.
Each one of the old schools is magnificent in its own right, and each has ironclad ties to its distinct neighborhood and community. We couldn’t mess this up. The community demanded a traditional style building. Towering stone archways and Corinthian-style columns made walking into Wilkes-Barre Area’s previous high school buildings feel like stepping back in time.
But it was time and use that pushed two of the three school buildings to the end of their useful lives, albeit prematurely. The school district made the difficult decision to combine all three into a unified school. The new building would have to accommodate a consolidated student body of 2,200 to 2,600.
Designing one of Pennsylvania’s largest new school buildings
At 405,000 square feet, the new Wilkes-Barre Area High School ranks among some of the largest high school buildings in the state. By comparison, Penn State High School’s south campus, built in 2018 is 520,000 square feet. Souderton Area High School, which was built in 2001 in Montgomery County near Philadelphia, is 445,000 square feet.
The closest new high school construction project, geographically, was Dallas High School built in 2011. That was a 230,000 square feet for a student body of less than 1,000.
With the project nearly completed, and almost ready to welcome its first students for the 2021-22 academic year, we’re celebrating the wins we achieved. The new school pays homage to the architecture of its forebears. Towering white pillars support a Greco-style triangular pediment at the main entrance. Natural light streams in from all directions inside creating an inspired environment where we hope students, in turn, will feel inspired to learn.
Traditional architecture vs. public school budgets
Traditional architecture has a lot of detail, and detail costs a lot of money. But we knew the community expected a portfolio piece under a tight budget. In fact, the school district’s budget allowed for just 80% of what it costs on average to build a school of that size.
We found new ways to squeeze out cost without sacrificing quality. The community expects this building at least 50 years, but most likely a lot more if we’re honest. Anyone can do a lot with a big budget. Unfortunately, modern school architecture, hobbled by limited budgets and a lack of creativity, produces sterile-looking shells more than anything else these days.
With the project mostly complete, it’s safe to say now that the high school qualifies Studio KLP to operate on a scale we never have before. Our team never imagined delivering on something of this magnitude, in a traditional aesthetic, with this budget, with this much community attention.
But here we are. We’re proud of the work we did for this and the legacy we’ve created for our company. We stretched and grew through every step, but we can confidently say it will never measure up to the growing that will happen inside this new building.
It’s a high school, after all. Thousands of minds will grow sharper there. Kids will uncover their passions and fire up their futures. In the grand scheme of things, we just showed them how to build the box to do it in.
Go Wolfpack!