New Las Cruces High School

Designed by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini in association with ASA Architects, this exciting new project for the Las Cruces Public School District is organized on a 160 acre site and features a campus-style layout of separate buildings organized around a series of outdoor plazas and courtyards.  

The new campus will feature several design initiatives which reflect the most current thinking regarding high school organization and environmental sensitivity.  For example, the School District has recognized that the current educational model has been ineffective in limiting dropout rates.  This new facility breaks from the traditional model by organizing into academies which are further broken down into small learning communities (SLCs) that become the home base of both students and instructors.  The advantage of breaking a large institution down into smaller, more manageable components allows increased one-on-one interaction between teachers and students.  The goal of this is to reduce dropout rates and provide students a stronger sense of community and personal attention – both vital to the school district’s mission.

Additionally, the project will make use of a variety of energy efficient and environmentally friendly features that will enhance the users’ experience.  Among these is a highly efficient ground-coupled heat pump system that will be used to heat and cool the majority of the facility.  This will offer the ability to zone individual classrooms to desired temperatures and reduce the amount of mechanical equipment residing on roofs.  The buildings will also optimize daylighting capabilities to reduce electric lighting costs and improve the indoor environment for teachers and students.  Electric lighting will be controlled via light sensors which will save energy costs.  Water harvesting for landscape needs will be incorporated reducing water usage.

Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Size: 160 Acres