Back

St. Augustine High School

Enhancing teaching, learning, and athletic experiences through good design.

Category Education
Adaptive Reuse + Modernization

Size 33,039 SF

Location New Orleans, LA

Year 2022

Opportunity

St. Augustine High School, founded in 1951 in New Orleans, is a college preparatory school for young men, emphasizing academic excellence, moral values, and Christian responsibility. A storied institution, time had taken its toll on the aging campus facilities. While the school made do with existing systems and small modifications over the years, there was ample opportunity to enable the building to enhance the teaching and learning experience, rather than act as an environmental limitation.

Under President/CEO, Mr. Aulston Taylor, the school recently underwent a modernization project, focusing on good design to enhance the teaching and learning experience, ensuring the school stays competitive and its facilities are reflective of its mission for years to come.

Strategy

The holistic design approach accommodates changing curriculum and learning styles while addressing the physical and physiological needs of the students and teachers through technological, thermal, and aesthetic upgrades. Incremental modifications over the years became a hinderance and distraction: mechanical systems occupied valuable floor space; poor acoustics prevented teachers from commanding the room; and IT, power, and lighting technology retrofits were visible. New design moves throughout the offices, classrooms, corridors, and STEM labs remove the distractions. They also creatively enhance visual memory and honor the Mid-Century building’s celebrated character, rather than disrupting it.

Outcome

By investing in its facilities, the school creates long-term value for its community by staying competitive with other schools that have undergone noteworthy renovations or constructed new campuses. Good design is not static but adaptable and resilient, ensuring that St. Augustine’s facilities foster engagement and support its mission to serve its students for years to come.

Awards

Louisiana Landmarks SocietyExcellence in Historic Preservation, 2024

The Team

Raymond Armant

Cornisha Lyons

Ashley King

Related Projects

Edna Karr High School

Trinity Episcopal Church and School Master Plan

Ben Franklin High School Master Plan

James M. Singleton Head Start Center