CLH provided landscape architecture and civil engineering services for a master plan and new construction of Green Level High School. This school incudes one softball field, one baseball field, two multi-purpose fields, six tennis courts, a track, and stadium facilities. CLH also worked with the Town of Cary on a greenway connection to the school.

CLH has extensive experience with the site design and permitting for educational facilities across North Carolina. Because these facilities have extensive parking (e.g., 750 – 1,100 spaces) for both daily and special event use, careful attention is given to signage, wayfinding, and stormwater management. As with Green Level High School, many include greenway connectors and detailed pedestrian plans to reduce conflicts between cars and pedestrians. Additionally, Green Level High School required extensive walls due to the steep terrain.

Tzu Chen Photography

CLH provided landscape architecture and civil engineering services for Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) Bryan Road Elementary School. This is one of the first schools to incorporate design components to support Wake County’s 2020 Strategic Plan. To create a school system where all students can succeed, WCPSS has implemented the goals that their facilities integrate components to support collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking.

The facility consists of 52 classrooms facility with a courtyard bounded by the classroom wings and the main core. The courtyard includes the play areas for the Pre-K and K-2 students, while play areas for grades three through five are adjacent to the playing field. The multipurpose field serves as a community resource due to interlocal agreements between the Town of Garner and the school system and hosts Town recreation programs as well as student activities. A separate parking area is provided for Town use during the school day. In addition, a walking track along the new greenway is used by both the school and the community.

Located on Bryan Road in Garner, NC, the elementary school occupies the southern portion of its 50+ acre site, which could occupy a future middle school. A bus loop, concrete sidewalks, and more than 100 paved parking spaces provide safe vehicular and pedestrian access.

Tzu Chen Photography

CLH provided landscape architecture, civil engineering, and construction administration services for the Apex High School project. This project includes the replacement of the current high school building in addition to site improvements around the campus.  The proposed building stands 74 feet tall at its highest point.  Some of the other proposed buildings on site are a new press box, greenhouse, visitor concessions and restrooms and a two-level parking deck. Students assigned to Apex High School have been moved to newly built Green Level High School before returning to Apex High in August 2019.

This central courtyard presented the challenge of designing a multi-functional space with distinct areas that also felt cohesive. CLH worked closely with lead architect Clark Nexsen to design spaces for both passive and active learning. These spaces include: central lawn areas with tree shade for casual recreation, a patio with larger tables for art projects, a space for outdoor dining, and a lawn area in the sunniest spot that will be converted into a garden. In addition to daytime functionality, the space is also used as spill-over from sporting or performance events. The courtyard also accommodates circulation from one side to the other with a variety of paths. A cobblestone path runs like a riverbed through the courtyard from north to south, linking all of the spaces together. Scored concrete indicates main circulation paths, while linear pavers are located underneath the main seating areas. In addition to a variety of spaces is a variety of seating. There are both fixed and unfixed seating options, creating opportunities for the students to create their own spaces.

CLH provided landscape architecture and civil engineering services for the John J. Blair Elementary School project. This 13.79 acre project included the replacement of the existing school. The site design includes a colorful coastal-themed outdoor paved play area in the shape of an octopus.  CLH was challenged with addressing the vehicular circulation problems by providing enough on-site stacking for the carpool loop to avoid traffic backing out on Blair School Road. The new site design incorporated a constructed wetland to treat the stormwater runoff and provide an education opportunity for the students.

CLH provided landscape architecture and civil engineering services on the Green Elementary Replacement School project. The original building located near Millbrook and Six Forks Road was constructed in 1958.  Over the years, various building additions were added to meet expansion needs; however, to meet current programming requirements, it was determined that a total replacement of the facilities would be the best approach.  The clean slate allowed the placement and shape of the building to respond to the existing topography of the site and utilize the site to its potential. The large topographic changes were used to create separation between uses such as staff parking areas, play spaces, stormwater detention, and the car pool drive loop.

Because of the existing history of the school, many features of the former site were designed into the new site to preserve the identity of Green Elementary.  For example, because a Magnolia tree previously located in the bus loop could not be saved, it was repurposed into a story teller chair area located outside the media center.  Also, a rock outcropping which was a former destination along a nature trail in the wooded area of campus was relocated and is now featured in the carpool loop.  Bricks from the original school building are used in the “Leadership Plaza” Space outside of the Administration area where the student Leadership committee will meet.

Green Elementary is a shining example of a site design which blends history, nature, and user needs to create a space that is unique and meaningful to the students, teachers, parents, and staff.

The existing Alamance Elementary School is located at the corner of Southeast School Road and Williams Dairy Road in Guilford County, NC.  The elementary school is made up of several standalone buildings.  Most of the existing elementary school buildings were demolished with the exception of the one story classroom/administration and cafeteria building that is located the farthest west of all the buildings.  This building will be renovated and a large classroom addition will be constructed to attach to this building.  Site work for this project consisted of the demolition of three elementary school buildings and grading for the construction of a new addition.  New access drives, parking lots, multipurpose playfields, play areas, off site road improvements, utility services and a constructed wet pond to control stormwater runoff were major parts of this project.