Avoyelles Public Charter School Master Plan

Location

Mansura, Louisiana

Owner

Avoyelles Parish Public Charter School, Inc.

Completion Date

2007

The Avoyelles Public Charter School Master Plan, including a new classroom, administration building, gymnasium and state-of-the-art performing arts facility, is a high school expansion of an existing public charter school. Three new facilities, along with existing, frame a new quadrangle. Traditional and modern materials are combined to express a regional modernism with roots in the community.
 
On axis with the main entry to the site, the main classroom building provides a gateway to the campus and creates an iconic anchor point for the school. The new structures in conjunction with the existing facilities create a new quadrangle and student gathering area which also serves as an amphitheater for outdoor functions and performances. Primary materials for the expanded campus include brick masonry, steel wall panels, and glass curtain walls. Brick retaining walls border the quadrangle, while galvanized steel canopies provide protection to pedestrians. The performing arts building is the centerpiece of the new campus with an entry plaza designed as an outdoor stage, complete with lighting and sound controls. A bell tower structure provides an axial connection between the gymnasium and performing arts buildings, a future building site, and the bus loading area. Clerestory windows provide natural lighting within the gymnasium.