FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The New Harriton High School Opens Its Doors
Rosemont, PA – January 8, 2010 – The Lower Merion School District is enjoying a successful first year in the new Harriton High School. Designed by KCBA Architects, the 328,000 square foot building features a wide variety of spaces to accommodate the breadth of the School District’s curriculum and is on target to receive LEED Silver Certification.
Located on a tight 50-acre site that contains the existing high school (a collection of nine free-standing
buildings) and associated parking and athletic facilities, one of the project’s primary challenges was to
maintain safe and seamless operation of the academic program through the construction and site
restoration. KCBA and the School District’s construction manager devised a carefully orchestrated strategy that involved six discrete phases over four years. A number of measures were taken to maximize available space such as conversion of the stadium’s field from grass to artificial turf to provide a more consistent and drainable playing surface capable of supporting heavier use. Another playfield was temporarily converted for staff and student parking during the construction phase and employed porous asphalt paving for enhanced stormwater management.
The new school features a diverse array of learning, activity, and support spaces to accommodate the
enrollment of 1,250 students. In addition to the general purpose classrooms, science laboratories, art
classrooms, and music rehearsal spaces typically found in a high school, Harriton also features a lecture
hall with tiered seating to help prepare students for the college environment, a black box theater to be
utilized by several departments as well as the drama program, and a lofty, glass-encased library that serves as the building’s exterior focal point and interior anchor.
The original Harriton High School, designed by Vincent Kling and completed in 1957, was built in what has become known as the “California Style” as it initially consisted of four distinct buildings connected by a series of covered walkways with a paved central courtyard. Mindful of the community’s fondness for this
unique outdoor space, KCBA included a secure, landscaped courtyard as a central component of the new
building design. The butterfly roof over the second floor library and buff masonry exterior walls with white
accents also evoke the forms and materials of the original high school. Several other features have been
carried over into the new building as sustainable design strategies such as proper orientation of the
classroom wings, broad expanses of glazing in the classrooms, and shading devices on the south-facing
glass to take maximum advantage of daylighting opportunities.
The new high school reflects the School District’s commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency. The
site features several innovative stormwater management strategies including bio-infiltration swales in the
parking lot to collect and treat rainwater for recharge into the ground and an underground storage tank
which takes water from the roof and recycles it in the building as gray water to flush toilets. To build upon
the facility’s careful placement and orientation, daylight harvesting is employed to reduce electricity use and the cooling load on mechanical equipment. Light fixtures, mechanical equipment, and controls were carefully selected to provide a healthy learning environment which uses less energy and water than the original – and smaller – high school.
This project is one of two new high schools concurrently designed by KCBA for the Lower Merion School
District. The new 330,000 square foot Lower Merion High School is under construction and on schedule to open for the 2010-2011 academic year. Demolition of the previous Harriton High School buildings is also underway to make way for additional athletic fields, student parking lots, and landscaping with final
completion scheduled for spring 2011.
ABOUT KCBA ARCHITECTS
KCBA is a full service architectural firm that specializes in educational, religious, municipal, corporate, and residential facility planning and design. Founded in 1972, the firm’s staff of 60 professionals provides
creative, coordinated, and efficient development solutions in the architectural, interior design, landscape
architecture, and structural engineering disciplines.
KCBA Contact:
Jon Goldberg
215-368-5806
Photo credits: Halkin Architectural Photography