Board OKs new school design

The latest design concept for a new Whitefish High School shows a lodge-like exterior marked by peaked roofs, covered walkways, stonework and cedar shakes. Gone are previous plans for a more modern-looking building with large windows and sleek lines.

The School Board approved Friday the new design concept as it stands.

“We’re giving the nod of approval for what it looks like now,” trustee Dave Fern said. “I think this building looks fine from what I’ve seen.”

“I think it’s better than the original concept,” chairwoman Pat Jarvi added.

Through an email to the board, Bayard Dominick, the school’s advisor on the project, said the design team worked with faculty and administrators to make sure the plans are consistent with the school district’s goals.

“These goals include being cost effective, support 21st century learning and sustainable, while creating a school that is student centric and creates an inspiring place to teach and learn,” he wrote.

Dominick Tuesday explained the reason behind the changes.

“Early in the process we received very strong feedback from the community that we wanted a school design that was unique to Whitefish and that took advantage of the site of the school and maximized the view of Big Mountain,” he said. “We asked the architects to look to local and regional architectural precedents for buildings of this size. With those precedents in mind, the architects revised the architecture to reflect the massing and detailing of those regional structures.”

Craig Mason, with the school’s architect DLR Group, updated the school board Aug. 14 on the design progress. Mason said input has been gathered to create the current design that is crafted with materials that are both traditional and simple.

“We have to make sure the design is fiscally responsible and is easily maintainable,” he said. “It needs to be unique to Whitefish and needs to be a sense of pride for the community.”

The design includes the addition of 2,254 square feet above what was previously proposed. This would bring the school’s size to 122,754 square feet.

“This increase will create some additional pressure on the total budget for the project,” Dominick said, “but we believe this increase in square footage helps improve the ability to meet the educational needs and goals for the school.

A revamp of the school is planned with a mix of new construction and remodel work. The school is anticipated to be opened in August 2014.

The major change to the interior design from earlier plans includes moving the location of the library from the first to the second floor.

“Post bond election, the architects came up with the idea of moving the library to the second floor,” Dominick said. “They wanted to orient it in such a way that maximizes the view of the mountains and made it a central part of the circulation of the school — making the library the hub of the school.”

The dinning room and commons area is the center of the first floor.

The main entrance to the building has students and visitors passing by the administration area.

“As soon as you walk into the school it’s like a lobby with a place to wait and be greeted by a person rather than having to follow an arrow somewhere,” Mason said.

Roughly 35,000 square feet of the building is set to be classrooms and shared learning spaces. Classrooms include the ability for teachers to open moveable walls and work collaboratively.

The location of certain classrooms was decided with education in mind. The art room is situated to get a large amount of natural light. The home economics classroom is set to be adjacent to the kitchen, to offer learning opportunities with district cooking staff.

A section for the independent high school has also been added to the design, if the district decides to incorporate that into the building. The independent high school would have a separate entry and be self-sustaining in 2,550 square feet.

Upgrades to the gym include adding two locker rooms. The gym seating is set to be reduced from 3,200 to 2,400 to meet current code.

The School Board approved Aug. 14 Langlas & Associates as the general contractor on the project. Trustee Charlie Abell voted against the measure.

The firm has offices in Bozeman and Billings and has worked on a number of school projects, recently serving as contractor for Park High School in Livingston. Six firms were interviewed for the job.