South Warren Middle & High Schools
South Warren Middle and High Schools are scheduled to open in August 2010.
The 330,000-square-foot school will be the largest school building in the state, as reported by The Daily News. The entire facility sits on 88 acres and carries a $68 million price tag for the building, greenhouse and athletic fields/buildings.
South Warren has gained national recognition for becoming the largest building constructed of insulated concrete forms in the country. The walls are made of two sheets of insulating Styrofoam filled with about 8 inches of concrete. The method of insulation is reported to drastically reduce heating and cooling energy use and has been used in other Warren County schools.
More than a mile of these walls separates the far high school entrance from the far middle school entrance of the boomerang-shaped facility. The crux of the two wings is shared by a giant concrete amphitheater, which will be the largest school auditorium in the area with more than 750 seats.
Hundreds of classrooms showcase giant windows that flood the learning spaces with natural light. A courtyard can be seen from some of the windowed hallways along the building. Mahogany cabinets with glass fronts are lining the state-of-the-art science classrooms – decked out with the newest experiment tables and equipment. Architect Kenny Stanfield, with Sherman Carter and Barnhart, said the library/media centers were designed to provide a “Barnes & Noble” atmosphere that gives students a comfortable place to engage.The libraries are built like giant fish tanks with midsized windows dappling the walls on the first and second floors to allow passers-by to see “the learning taking place.”
