Horace Maynard Middle School

The new Horace Maynard Middle School is a replacement for Union County’s single, 70-year-old middle school facility. Located just off the main highway, the specific site was selected due to its proximity to existing patterns as well as access to municipal utilities. The site strategy was to literally “fit” the building to the sloping hillside site with a series of graded benches and steps created by retaining walls, which also results in the added benefit of at-grade entrances at both the north and south sides of the building.

Beyond stepping the building up the hillside site, clarity of circulation for wayfinding and security reasons was another important driver during the programming and design phases of the Project: The secure vestibule occurs at the south main entry and connects to the larger administration suite, and it is the day-to-day visitor entrance for the facility as well as the bus pick-up and drop-off. The primary circulation axis through the school runs south-to-north and concludes in the at-grade entry on the north side of the building. This entry is adjacent to the main parking lot to the north, and it serves as the car rider pick-up and drop-off adjacent to the long, car-queuing drive, and it also serves as the primary entrance for after-hours events such as basketball games.

Classrooms are organized in discrete wings by grade structure, in an approximate east-west orientation to better control glare and heat gain from the sun. Assistant principal offices are located adjacent to their respective grade-level classroom wings, purposely outside of the administration suite.

The heart of the building – a central atrium space defined by monumental stairs, including multipurpose interior stadium seating, continuous clerestory windows for abundant natural light, and the overlap of key core spaces – media center and cafeteria, occurring on the second level and first level, respectively.

At the exterior courtyard between classroom wings, stepped concrete risers slope up to the one-story 8^th grade classroom wing bench to the north while mirroring the interior stadium seating, creating a multipurpose outdoor amphitheater.

The site development includes a football field with grandstand, a baseball/ softball complex, and adjacent county road improvements necessary to support a 1,000-core school facility.