Olympic High School, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

As part of an expansive building program, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools charged McMillan Pazdan Smith with designing a 35,000 SF, two-story stand-alone classroom building across from their existing campus. We also designed ADA and finish upgrades for the existing auditorium renovation and window replacements for the existing building.

Located directly across from the existing school, a covered canopy links the new addition. The exterior was designed to match the existing building style and clay-colored brick which added a more elevated and modern finish. Our original concept included metal paneling façade, which we value engineered in favor of a two-toned, all-brick structure to meet the district’s budget.

The addition also includes 12 classrooms, an advanced manufacturing lab, four career and technical education (CTE) classrooms, and a mechatronics lab. With the advance manufacturing lab on the first floor, we applied an isolated structural system so the noise and vibration of the equipment would not transport throughout the building and disrupt teaching / learning. To further offset noise, we used a sound control ceiling system within the advance manufacturing lab. As part of the contract, our team also renovated the school’s auditorium with new paint, carpet, and seating, and made it ADA accessible by adding a ramp and a lift for access to the stage from the main floor.

The project was completed in July of 2016.