{"id":6197,"date":"2024-09-24T19:04:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T02:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celloexpressions.com\/photography\/?p=6197"},"modified":"2025-06-21T17:35:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T00:35:25","slug":"benson-polytechnic-high-school-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celloexpressions.com\/photography\/2024\/09\/benson-polytechnic-high-school-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Benson Polytechnic High School, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Planning for a modernized Benson Polytechnic High School began near its one-hundredth anniversary. Eight years later, following three years of construction, the new campus opened in August 2024. With a blend of historic landmark buildings and new state-of-the-art career-technical education (CTE) facilities, the school is ready to welcome another century of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post takes a virtual tour through the new school, primarily in images taken during the grand opening celebration on September 14. We’ll also look back at a few views from the construction process. For a comprehensive sense of the “before”, see my post on the campus history and existing conditions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exteriors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Benson Tech campus has long held a prominent presence along the surrounding streets. The new design maintains 100% of the remaining original street-facing facades. In fact, only the 1991 media center, along NE Irving St., has been entirely replaced. The mirror south-facing structure, the 1964 gymnasium, remains with a new energy-efficient over-cladding assembly that visually matches the new buildings on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking around the site, the historic buildings anchor three corners and surround the west entry courtyard. The long, single-story facades of the original north and south shop wings have been restored. In between and above, new construction alternates with these original pieces. New materials and articulation draw directly from the historic conditions. Darker brick is laid in the same running bond and white-trimmed windows are in matching proportions. Only wrapping into interior facades do these new additions evolve to take on a life of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A broader porch at the level 1 elevation enables gathering outside the main entry, where the berm previously restricted usable space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gently sloped lawns fill the spaces between the pathways, recalling the open design of the historic entry courtyard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Shrub and tree plantings now frame the central pathways and lawns, adding softness and depth to the entry sequence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At ground level, the courtyard retains its simple historic expression, receding from the surrounding architecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Subtle depressions in the entry courtyard paving come alive in the rain as water conveyance gutters, a visual expression of civil engineering design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Steps line the south end of the entry courtyard for direct access to the gym entries. A glazed enclosure finally links the upper level of the gym directly to the interior of the main building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The west fa\u00e7ade of the 1925 gym building features new windows in restored original openings at the lower level classrooms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gently sloping ramps replaced the narrow stair from the south walkway to NE 12th Ave.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The south walkway will reopen to public access along the former NE Glisan St. right of way, now with fully accessible ramps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Trees and smaller shrubs will offer more variety than the previous large shrubs along the perimeter of the site.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The restored auxiliary gym south fa\u00e7ade includes consistently infilled basement window openings and new egress stairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cast stone veneer reminiscent of the historic terra cotta now clearly defines the transitions between historic and contemporary facades around the campus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The radio tower has been structurally retrofitted and painted white, with confirmation that it is just under the height that would require the previous, FAA-mandated striped color scheme.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The 1964 main gymnasium has long been despised for its incongruous setting against the historic campus buildings. However, its useful location and size warranted inclusion in the modernized campus. A new brick finish matches the new buildings on campus and integrates extensive structural and thermal improvements.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The main gym seismic upgrade used a creative approach to strengthen the existing solid concrete walls instead of replacing them. Vertical steel strongbacks provide out-of-plane support halfway between each original column. Steel angles stitch the tilt-up panels together along the height of each column to create the behavior of a monolithic wall. A concrete base ties the tilt-up panels to the basement wall to complete the load path, and support the brick overcladding that integrates these improvements and exterior insulation into the final design. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The south courtyard between the main gym and the south shop wing and radio tower now features a direct connection from the central commons to Buckman Park, as well as the gym and restrooms accessible from the exterior. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Solar panels float above the restored south shop wing fa\u00e7ade, continuing beyond the radio tower screen that will soon feature a painted identity sign facing Buckman Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A new ramp and stairs link Buckman Park with the Benson Tech campus in a collaboration between PPS and PP&R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The south shop wing’s facade has been dramatically restored with the removal of 1960 window infills and reinstallation of windows in the original proportions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Two arched opening bays remained intact but had been filled with brick inside the arch. Arched “fan” windows from the courtyard were reworked to replicate the historic transoms in these bays with new fixed doors. Two similar arched bays once existed on the mirrored NE Irving St. fa\u00e7ade, but were rectangularized in its 1958 renovation and remain in that configuration. Can you find them?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The restored south wing fa\u00e7ade maintains an alternating blend of new and historic buildings along the long campus perimeter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The original walls of the north and south shop wings are all that remain of the original buildings. However, much of the original building interiors, including their structure, had already been replaced during previous renovations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The steel frames of the new CTE & classroom buildings highlight the changes in construction technology since the original shop buildings were constructed of unreinforced masonry bearing walls in the early 20th centrury.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The south two-story classroom & CTE building steps back from the historic fa\u00e7ade, with its cascading solar brise soleil and a green roof that we’ll see later.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Car parking has been consolidated into two small lots, buffering the CTE courtyard from NE 15th Ave. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The single-story, fan-lite-lined mass that remains along the south of the foundry building reminds us of the condition what once lined the entire eastern courtyard, breaking to facilitate large roll-up doors and outdoor workspace at the new buildings beyond.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We’ll walk around the CTE courtyard later, but here’s a preview of the solar canopy and the transition between the foundry and the north building:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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