New Florida Middle-High School Designed for LEED Gold

By SCN Staff

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—SchenkelShultz Architecture recently announced the completion of the innovative and sustainable Middle-High School at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville.

The public K-12 school is affiliated with the University of Florida’s College of Education and is a statewide leader in the development of innovative educational programs that create an optimized learning environment for every student.

The new, three-story academic building replaces the existing 60-year-old facility with a student-centered learning environment that is flexible, technology-rich, and provides opportunities for collaboration to occur everywhere. Each learning community includes STEM labs, open collaboration areas, learning studios, distance learning labs, teacher planning/collaboration, and small group break-out spaces.

“Our goal was to design a physical environment that was an embodiment of the school’s mission to ‘design, test and disseminate innovations in education,” said J. David Torbert, Partner, SchenkelShultz Architecture. “We collaborated closely with P.K Yonge’s Leadership Team, educators and students to create a new building that prioritizes active, participatory learning within a safe and secure environment.”  In recognition of its outstanding design, the project was recently awarded 1st Place in the Architectural Showcase presented by the Florida Education Facilities Planners’ Association (FEFPA).

The project was designed and built to achieve LEED® Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  Parrish McCall Constructors served as the Construction Manager for the project.