In the end, the Flathead High School expansion project resulted in a new gym and expanded modern classrooms contained within the 1926-era space previously occupied by the old gym. And as a bonus for the school district, design and phasing decisions resulted in a $900,000 cost savings.
Kalispell, Montana
Flathead High School Expansion
A District-Wide Makeover
In 2015, the Kalispell School District put forth two bond requests—one for the elementary district and one for the high school district—in response to rising enrollment, overcapacity, and aging facilities. These bonds requested funding to address issues at every building in the district—five elementary schools and all high school buildings, including the Flathead High School expansion project.
The two requests represented the largest combined ballot request in the history of the Kalispell School District 5, and would bring all schools up to code, safety, and security standards and build a new elementary school to solve overcrowding in the district.
Both bond measures passed, and the district selected Morrison-Maierle to serve as the prime design consultant and the engineering team for the long-term facility planning process. As the prime consultant, Morrison-Maierle was tasked with recommending an architectural firm—a unique turn of events as typically engineers are hired by architects for school building projects.
Client
Kalispell Public Schools
Location
Kalispell, Montana
Budget
$10M
Services & Highlights
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Electrical design
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Mechanical design
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Phased process
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Prime consultant
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Renovate historic space
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Steam to hot water heat conversion
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Structural design
All lighting controls run in the background and use photometric photocells for daylight harvesting.
In addition to extra classrooms, the new addition also uses hallway space for extra learning environments for independent study.
The new learning stairs lead to more classroom space next to the gym and above the auditorium.
Renovating Flathead High School
After gathering community and district input, it was clear that the school needed a full-sized, modern-era gym. And because the bond only covered renovation projects, a brand-new facility was out of the question.
The design team had to answer a challenging question: how do you remove the half floors, remove the old gym, infill the courtyard, maintain the necessary infrastructure, and fit a full-size gym in the middle of the existing space, all while keeping school in session?
The solution was to design the addition as a free-standing, isolated building completely separated from the main building. As a result, the new and existing buildings are isolated from one another with a 10-inch gap between them to allow for seismic shift and fire protection: two major hurdles for an existing building that couldn’t support a new structure.
The old gym, pictured in the center, was demolished and the space was redesigned to create a seamless connection between the left and right wings of the school.
The new building needed to fit within the same space that the old gym occupied. The Walls are separated by just 10 inches.
The Final Result
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