Benjamin Banneker High School

SK&A provided structural engineering services for a new 200,000 sf, four-story, innovative high school facility that aims to inspire academic and civic excellence within the student body of 800 students.  A new learning commons area is centrally positioned within the facility’s four-story atrium and will host interactive and collaborative activities.  The new school is constructed on the Shaw Elementary School site, which was demolished and replaced by the new structure.  The site also incorporates public recreational facilities, including a skate park, dog park, and basketball courts.

The project features indoor and outdoor classroom spaces, rooftop terraces, an outdoor plaza, a new outdoor athletic field, and a new gymnasium, which cantilevers over the floor below.  Long span roof trusses cross the length of the two-story gymnasium’s perimeter.  The columns and braced frames offset vertically from the perimeter frame through to the recessed cafeteria floor below.  The building is aiming for LEED BD+C Schools - Gold certification with a goal to be Net Zero Energy ready.