In Warrensville Heights, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Cleveland, a $31.7 million project has completed a new middle school and a renovated high school accommodating 1,283 students in grades 6-12.
In 2016, the Warrensville Heights School District engaged Moody Nolan to assist in master planning and to design the combined middle and high school buildings, while incorporating input gathered from the community and teachers. Construction lasted from late 2019 to mid-2023.
Adjacent to the existing high school, the middle school has been designed with flexible learning environments that include open collaboration areas, small group rooms, and maker spaces intended to foster diverse teaching and learning approaches. The project also renovated the high school’s science wing.
Offerings include culinary arts, restaurant, health clinic, firefighting training, planetarium, auditorium, and an expanded high school gym.
Adjacent to the auditorium lie the academic zones, with general education classrooms, specialized rooms, and versatile spaces on each floor. Each academic zone also has a central learning commons to extend the classroom environment.
The media center, which is centrally located in the academic area for everyone to use, features porcelain tile learning stairs with flexible seating, promoting both collaboration and quiet study. Surrounding the media center are the TV studio, career area, and visual design studio.
At the school’s request, the project also includes an e-sports center for the school’s e-sports team and gaming club. The center features both individual and group gaming stations for the virtual competitions and overlooks the learning stair in the media center for spectators.
A corridor connects the schools to the adjacent community center. A butterfly canopy at the high school and community entrances impacts the interior design, reflecting light through its angled walls.
Durable, low-maintenance interior finishes, such as LVT flooring with acoustical backing, reduce noise transmission from floor to floor and eliminate the need for waxing, saving the school district time and money each summer.
Outside, the complex features a football stadium with an eight-lane running track, an athletics plaza, baseball and softball fields, and a bus maintenance garage.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Warrensville Heights City School District Board of Education
Design architect and architect of record: Moody Nolan
MEP and structural engineer: Osborn Engineering
General contractor: Infinity Construction Company
![A Cleveland suburb opens a $31.7 million new middle school and renovated high school](/sites/default/files/inline-images/R19419_01_high.jpg)
![A Cleveland suburb opens a $31.7 million new middle school and renovated high school](/sites/default/files/inline-images/R19419_01_N3_high.jpg)
![A Cleveland suburb opens a $31.7 million new middle school and renovated high school](/sites/default/files/inline-images/R19419_01_N4_high.jpg)
![A Cleveland suburb opens a $31.7 million new middle school and renovated high school](/sites/default/files/inline-images/R19419_01_N5_high.jpg)
Related Stories
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| Jun 3, 2013
Construction spending inches upward in April
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised March estimate of $857.7 billion.
| May 21, 2013
7 tile trends for 2013: Touch-sensitive glazes, metallic tones among top styles
Tile of Spain consultant and ceramic tile expert Ryan Fasan presented his "What's Trending in Tile" roundup at the Coverings 2013 show in Atlanta earlier this month. Here's an overview of Fasan's emerging tile trends for 2013.
| May 20, 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle: All U.S. real estate sectors to post gains in 2013—even retail
With healthier job growth numbers and construction volumes at near-historic lows, real estate experts at Jones Lang LaSalle see a rosy year for U.S. commercial construction.
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 25, 2013
Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools
DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.
| Apr 24, 2013
North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage
North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
| Apr 15, 2013
Seattle school certified as world's fourth Living Building
Bertschi School, an independent elementary school in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Wash., is now home to the first Living Building on the West Coast and the world’s fourth fully-certified Living Building.