In Omaha, Neb., a public high school and a YMCA come together in one facility, connecting the school with the broader community.
The 285,000-sf Westview High School, programmed and designed by the team of Perkins&Will and architect of record BCDM Architects, has its own athletic facilities but shares a pool, weight room, and more with the 30,000-sf YMCA.
“The Y and the public-school systems are the two largest youth development organizations in our county,” Chris Tointon, former president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Omaha, said in a statement. “Rather than build one Y and one school and stick them together, we needed to define as many needs as possible and work towards 100% utilization, so we received the biggest benefits of a shared facility.”
Students and YMCA members enter the building through two separate vestibules located next to each other in a common entry point. Students move into a two-story lobby that’s adjacent to student dining, while Y members go directly into the facility. Overlooking the lobby, an open-concept library features communal space that leads to a stair connecting the two spaces.
Creating a sense of community for the shared high school and YMCA
The design creates a sense of community with the central, large gathering spaces of the cafeteria, auditorium, media center, and gymnasium, in addition to the YMCA. The communal quality of these spaces has been balanced with a small-group student learning experience created by an array of rooms and nooks that foster various learning styles. Numerous spaces have been designed for student collaboration.
While the exterior features a simple beige brick and zinc palette, the school boasts abundant natural light as well as wood and brick. Classrooms and labs offer windows open to natural light.
The facility has been designed to withstand extreme weather volatility. The black box theater and locker rooms can also serve as storm shelters. These spaces’ windows have been high-stress treated, and the walls, roof, and pipes can withstand up to 250 mph winds and rain.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Omaha Public Schools
Design architect: Perkins&Will
Architect of record: BCDM Architects
MEP engineer: Alvine Engineering
Civil engineer: Sampson Construction
Structural engineer: Performance Engineering
General contractor: Sampson Construction
![Photo: Tom Kessler Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_in_19_tk.jpg)
![Photo: Tom Kessler Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_in_17_tk.jpg)
![Photo: Tom Kessler Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_in_16_tk.jpg)
![Westview High School in Omaha, Neb., includes a YMCA to share facilities and connect with the broader community Photo: James Steinkamp Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_ex_9401_js.jpg)
![Westview High School in Omaha, Neb., includes a YMCA to share facilities and connect with the broader community Photo: James Steinkamp Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_ex_3309_js.jpg)
![Westview High School in Omaha, Neb., includes a YMCA to share facilities and connect with the broader community Photo: James Steinkamp Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_ex_0690_js.jpg)
![Photo: Tom Kessler Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_ex_05%20RT_tk%20PREFERRED.jpg)
![Photo: Tom Kessler Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_ex_03_RT_tk.jpg)
![Photo: Tom Kessler Photography, courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_ex_1_RT04_tk.jpg)
![Rendering courtesy Perkins&Will](/sites/default/files/inline-images/WHS_in_5298_js_0.jpg)
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
High-density planning allows abundant open space
Gilroy Unified School District's new Christopher High School in California opened its first phase this fall. The 1,800-student, 231,000-sf facility was designed with a high-density site plan that allows for both on-site sports fields and undeveloped open space. BCA Architects of Fremont, Calif., with Gilbane Building Companies as CM, collaborated with numerous user groups to plan the two-story,...
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
| Aug 11, 2010
Courtyard connects new and remodeled schools
Good Fulton & Farrell Architects of Dallas designed a major expansion and renovation at the Dallas Academy in Texas. The 22,900-sf addition serves as the school’s new front door and includes a library, student assembly area, cafeteria, seven classrooms, and administrative offices. The school’s existing 14,560-sf building was renovated to accommodate a lower school component, and...
| Aug 11, 2010
Connecticut high school gets a expansion and renovation
The Morganti Group, Danbury, Conn., is managing the construction of a $41 million addition and renovation project at Newtown (Conn.) High School. Designed by Fletcher Thompson, Shelton, Conn., the project consists of a 70,000-sf addition and 30,000 sf of renovations to the gymnasium and interior spaces.
| Aug 11, 2010
School district plans net-zero building
Camas (Wash.) School District is planning to utilize one of three energy sources—photovoltaics, wind turbine, or geothermal—to help take its new community high school completely off the grid. The school district commissioned Interface Engineering to explore all three options for the project, which is scheduled to break ground in August.
| Aug 11, 2010
LA high school takes design cue from historic Mexican architecture
The Los Angeles Unified School District recently opened the $75 million Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center, a high school in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, near Little Tokyo. Designed by Nadel Architects in a joint venture with Barrio Planners Inc., the 114,000-sf school is vertically integrated, allowing the campus to fit on a compact, six-acre site.
| Aug 11, 2010
Nursing home turned charter school opens in Dorchester, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.-based HMFH Architects spearheaded the design for the conversion of a former nursing home in Dorchester, Mass., to learning and community space for the Neighborhood House Charter School. The pre-K—8 school has two classrooms for each elementary grade level, clusters of middle school classrooms, a cafeteria, media center, and art, computer, music and science classrooms.
| Aug 11, 2010
Modest recession for education construction
Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.
| Aug 11, 2010
Las Vegas high school focuses on careers in justice, emergency response
McCarthy Building Cos., St. Louis, recently completed construction on the 130,700-sf Veterans Tribute Career & Technical Academy, a Las Vegas high school that focuses on service career pathways in 911 dispatch training, law enforcement, crime scene analysis, emergency medical training, and computer forensics.
| Aug 11, 2010
Three Schools checking into L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel site
Pasadena-based Gonzalez Goodale Architects is designing three new schools for Los Angeles Unified School District's Central Wilshire District. The $400 million campus, located on the site of the former Ambassador Hotel, will house a K-5 elementary school, a middle school, a high school, a shared recreation facility (including soccer field, 25-meter swimming pool, two gymnasiums), and a new publ...