flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Tech school designed to prepare students for high-wage, high-skill careers

Projects

Tech school designed to prepare students for high-wage, high-skill careers

A Florida high school gets a space whose design serves its disciplines.


By Novid Parsi, Contributing Editor | March 31, 2022
KRAI ext
KRAI is not supposed to look like any other school you have seen before.

In Wesley Chapel, Fla., a half-hour north of Tampa, Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation (KRAI) is “not going to look like anything you’ve ever seen before,” Kim Moore, assistant superintendent at Pasco County Schools, said in a statement. “This is going to be a cool school.”

Set to open for the 2022-23 school year, the 180,000-square-foot building will focus on Career and Technical Education (CTE), preparing students for high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand careers. It will offer hands-on, interactive learning that teaches skills more than theory—equipping students with the competencies they need to transition from high school to careers or college.

KRAI ext 2
The school is set to open for the 2022-2023 school year.

The purpose-built CTE high school will enroll more than 1,000 students, studying disciplines ranging from digital technology and engineering to biomedical science, cybersecurity, building construction, robotics, and more. Like the high-tech interdisciplinary buildings found on university campuses, KRAI is designed to fuel innovation, entrepreneurship, and career preparedness.

KRAI’s modern architecture and cantilevered entry canopy—hovering atop two simple columns—nod to the building sciences field, one of the school’s study areas. In addition to an open-air interior courtyard, the building will feature bridges, stairways, seating, and informal gathering areas—including a stage—that encourage incidental meetings and gatherings.

Every space is engineered to foster community and collaboration. A two-story collaboration hub, for instance, will include flexible furniture to support large gatherings and smaller-scale collaborations among students and outside partners. Like every space in the building, it will be bright, open, and reconfigurable.

KRAI ext 3
The space is meant to foster collaboration and community.

Each CTE classroom is designed to function as a makerspace, filled with professional-grade equipment, technology, and tools. These malleable spaces can change as career demands evolve.

CTE classroom
CTE classroom is a makerspace.

TRAI ext 3

Owner/developer: Pasco County Schools

Design architect: CannonDesign

Architect of record: Hepner Architects

MEP engineer: Engineering Matrix 

Structural engineer: DeCaroWillson

General contractor/construction manager: Creative Contractors

Related Stories

MFPRO+ News | Jul 22, 2024

6 multifamily WAFX 2024 Prize winners

Over 30 projects tackling global challenges such as climate change, public health, and social inequality have been named winners of the World Architecture Festival’s WAFX Awards.

Mass Timber | Jun 10, 2024

5 hidden benefits of mass timber design

Mass timber is a materials and design approach that holds immense potential to transform the future of the commercial building industry, as well as our environment. 

Urban Planning | May 28, 2024

‘Flowing’ design emphasizes interaction at Bellevue, Wash., development

The three-tower 1,030,000-sf office and retail development designed by Graphite Design Group in collaboration with Compton Design Office for Vulcan Real Estate is attracting some of the world’s largest names in tech and hospitality. 

Adaptive Reuse | Apr 29, 2024

6 characteristics of a successful adaptive reuse conversion

In the continuous battle against housing shortages and the surplus of vacant buildings, developers are turning their attention to the viability of adaptive reuse for their properties.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 2, 2024

How university rec centers are evolving to support wellbeing

In a LinkedIn Live, Recreation & Wellbeing’s Sadat Khan and Abby Diehl joined HOK architect Emily Ostertag to discuss the growing trend to design and program rec centers to support mental wellbeing and holistic health.

Affordable Housing | Jan 16, 2024

Construction kicks off on $237.9 million affordable housing project in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Construction recently began on an affordable housing project to create 328 units for low-income and formerly homeless populations in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Healthcare Facilities | Jan 7, 2024

Two new projects could be economic catalysts for a central New Jersey city

A Cancer Center and Innovation district are under construction and expected to start opening in 2025 in New Brunswick.

Biophilic Design | Oct 4, 2023

Transforming the entry experience with biophilic design

Vessel Architecture & Design's Cassandra Wallace, AIA, NCARB, explores how incorporating biophilic design elements and dynamic lighting can transform a seemingly cavernous entry space into a warm and inviting focal point.

Affordable Housing | Sep 25, 2023

3 affordable housing projects that serve as social catalysts

Trish Donnally, Associate Principal, Perkins Eastman, shares insights from three transformative affordable housing projects.

Adaptive Reuse | Sep 13, 2023

Houston's first innovation district is established using adaptive reuse

Gensler's Vince Flickinger shares the firm's adaptive reuse of a Houston, Texas, department store-turned innovation hub.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021