Jackson Hole High School

Carney Architects partnered with Anderson Mason Dale Architects of Denver to design the new 165,000 sf Jackson Hole High School.  The building was planned for 850 students, with core facilities to accommodate expansion to 1,000.  After abandoning plans to add on to an existing, almost windowless building, the Teton County School District purchased 30 acres across the street of what had been a hay meadow on a working ranch.  The challenge to the design team was to create a new school with natural light in every classroom, an auditorium to be used by the entire district, and large enough indoor athletic facilities to allow year round programs in Jackson's extreme climate.

The siting of the new high school placed it at the transition from developed town to ranchlands, an opportunity the team used to help organize the program and guide the concept.  The large volume spaces, an auditorium and two gyms, formed the western edge of the building, directly adjacent to the main student parking area.  The academic wings extend to the east from there, and are rotated slightly to take advantage of views to the southeast.  The long form running along the north of the site houses the library, art rooms, and administrative functions, and is orthogonal, relating to the town grid across the street.  Curved roof forms over the large volume spaces were reminiscent of the traditional 'bread loaf' haystacks nearby, and the color of the split-faced concrete block was carefully chosen to blend with the surrounding sage and grass-covered hills.  Certain western elements, such as log porches at the main entry, and a central rotunda, bring classical, rustic, and modern themes together into an integrated whole.