Canby High School Modernization

Canby School District

In a 2020 bond, Canby School District planned for an approximately 30,000 square foot addition along with numerous ‘warm, safe, and dry’ upgrades to their multi-building high school campus.

ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY

The high school project began with a community wide district master plan. Though an initially challenging landscape for engagement, the COVID lockdowns provided an opportunity to use online engagement tools to involve a broad range of stakeholders, including Canby’s Spanish-speaking community members. Translators, bi-lingual design team, technology specialists, and virtual engagement sessions together culminated to capturing Canby’s community’s rich diversity. The resulting master plan vision aimed to prioritize:

  • Just, Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Learning Environments
  • Flexible Learning Environments
  • Strong Community Identity

A Level 01 Floor Plan of Canby High School

HANDS-ON STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

The design team worked with Canby High administration to plan student involvement during the construction phase.

From initial input on what makes a school welcoming, to furniture selection, to student conversion of the construction mock-up into the stadium ticket booth, the project became a vocational learning opportunity tied into the students’ curriculum.

We coordinated some portions of the ticket booth to be built by the contractor as a free-standing mock-up, while the remaining portions were completed by a class of high school construction students. This gave students hands-on experience with commercial construction practices such as metal framing, fiber-cement siding, and membrane roofing. The mock-up was designed and sited to ultimately serve as the permanent ticket booth, allowing students to contribute to a lasting portion of their campus rather than it being demolished and sent to a landfill.
CONNECTING PAST AND PRESENT

The new addition to Canby High School ties into the original main campus building and houses an open and welcoming commons that serves as the connection between the existing building and new structure. This light-filled space was designed to be a “living room” for the campus that is used for lunches, school dances, and community events.

The project connects numerous parts of the existing building that were built in different eras dating from the 1920s to the 1990s. Mahlum designed the addition to be structurally and seismically independent of these various eras of construction while ensuring the spaces transitioned seamlessly into the existing building to improve connections, accessibility, and wayfinding. Formerly dark and dismal internal corridors were replaced by light-filled hallways at portions of the addition that abut the existing building.
NEW SPACES FOR MODERN LEARNING
The new wing consists of general education classrooms and specialized science classrooms with shared laboratories. Additionally, Canby High’s goal of creating 21st century, flexible-learning spaces is supported by informal shared learning nooks and break out areas that flank classroom pods.

The new structure forms an outdoor plaza adjacent to the track and field, fulfilling the need for a gathering space during football games and other large community. A landscaped berm along the track provides informal seating while defining covered outdoor learning zones that classrooms can spill out into.

FUN FACT
Born and raised in Canby, Oregon, our own project Designer Bryan Hollar once graced these halls as a Canby High student. Read more about his full-circle experience; improving the facilities of his alma matter and giving back to the community where he was originally inspired to pursue architecture.

“You worked your tails off, put in weekends and evenings, and called in ‘sweat equity’ favors from others. You and your staff worked to the brink, working overtime, exhausted, to prepare the building for our open house. There is still lots of work to do, but any person walking through knows we will be starting school on Tuesday. …Once again…wow. And thank you.”
—BEN WINEGAR, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL, CANBY HIGH SCHOOL