Meridian High School

The innovative project was designed to be Net-Zero energy ready and serves a student body of 1,200 with a maximum capacity of 1,500. Design of the five-story high school also involves connecting the building to the adjacent Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, creating a new unified campus.

Programmatic elements for the campus include traditional classrooms and space for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education. The project also features a large auditorium with “black box” and control room, a kitchen to be shared between the schools; an outdoor dining terrace overlooking the athletic fields; and a rooftop teaching terrace. The football, track, and baseball fields will remain, while a new softball complex, multi-purpose field and tennis courts will be added.

Exterior site lighting design encompassed grade level parking lots and vehicular entrances to the site, pedestrian pole mounted and bollard lighting for pedestrian pathways throughout campus, entry canopy lighting, and building mounted lighting for both building entrances and to supplement pedestrian and vehicular pathways.

Design criteria involved lighting for security, safety, and wayfinding. Additionally, particular emphasis was paid to light pollution and light trespass to pay heed to community responsibility and achieve points within the LEED accreditation system.