Grace Hebert Curtis Architects completed the renovation and additions for Central High School in Central, Louisiana.

The renovations to Central High School transform the congested and dimly lit 1970s high school into an open, collaborative school that encompasses nearly 200,000 SF of updated educational space. Instead of just updating the finishes of the existing school, the design team proposed a radical design solution to reorganize the school’s layout based on the learning communities of the curriculum, allowing for new-found efficiencies and the creation of a collegiate-like campus. With the school’s new program-based organization, the building is divided into specialized zones that are branded and tailored to the needs of each specific group – ranging from social studies to medical training to technical education spaces. In addition to the extensive renovations to the existing school, a new 1,200 seat competition gymnasium and centralized commons were designed to provide the school with additional capacity and a state-of-the-art facility to welcome the public into the newly transformed school.

Design: Grace Hebert Curtis Architects
Contractor: LEMOINE
Photography: Michael Palumbo