Located in the heart of downtown Phoenix, the Phoenix Union Bioscience High School provides Arizona’s most ethnically diverse school district with a highly specialized campus that takes full advantage of the city’s rapid growth as a hotbed for biotechnical research and development. The school’s 400 students focus on math and science and use nearby hospitals and biotechnical institutions through off-site projects and internships. “We embrace a multifaceted approach to learning, focused on relationships with community partners and extending learning beyond the walls of the school,” says principal DeeDee Falls.
The 52,000-square-foot rectangular building houses 15 classrooms that can be combined or subdivided to fit a variety of lesson plans and projects. Double-size classrooms occupy opposite ends of the second and third floors and are used for team-teaching classes such as bioethics and “phalgebra,” a combo of physics and algebra. With no dedicated faculty offices, students and teachers comingle in the same spaces, emphasizing the type of interaction and collaboration found at colleges and biomedical campuses. Open, flexible spaces dubbed student learning studios act as buffers between the double classrooms and hallways. Seven high-tech labs, some modeled after real labs found in biomedical facilities, are equipped with fume hoods, centrifuges, and other specialized devices. Rolling smart-board kiosks, laptop charging carts, and a mixture of group seating and independent areas add to the college feel. “We wanted it to be rigorous, yet provide students with more autonomy and responsibility,” Falls says.
The architects at Orcutt | Winslow used building information modeling to convey their design to school officials. “We modeled everything, down to the light switches and gas ports,” says project architect Russ Sanders, AIA.
The $11.4 million school uses a simple palette of materials. Sited appropriately for the Sonoran Desert environment, windowless tilt-up concrete panels on the east and west sides reduce solar gain. A large, three-story high, light-filled “town hall” along the south wall serves as a cafeteria and assembly area and is lined with three garage-style roll-up doors. A monolithic steel staircase ascends all the way to the school’s top floor.
While not aiming for LEED certification, the design incorporates sustainable solar hot water in the labs, and waterless urinals and low-flow fixtures in bathrooms. A framework for photovoltaic panels was incorporated into the roof, intended for future student experimentation.
Since opening, Bioscience High School’s test scores have validated its unique approach to learning. According to Falls, it “annihilated” the rest of Arizona in math scores, and its students have excelled in reading and writing. Incredibly, this is within a district where more than half the students come from homes where English is not the primary language.
“There’s a sense of pride,” Falls says. “The students love it here.”
Phoenix-based Scott Blair is senior regional editor of Southwest Contractor and Southwest bureau chief for Engineering News-Record.