Location: 
Springdale, Maryland
Total Square Feet: 333,000
Construction Period: June 1998 to Aug 2000

Construction Team
Construction Manager: Oak Contracting Corporation - 1000 Cromwell Brdge Rd., Towson, MD 21286
Structural Engineer: Resti Designers, Inc. - 1700 Firstfield Rd., #200, Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Electrical & Mechanical Engineer: D. Brooks Cross Chartered Consulting Engineers - 8415 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Landscape Architect: Ben Dyer Associates - 8100 Professional Plaza, Landover, MD 20785
Cost Estimator: Oak Contracting Corporation - 1000 Cromwell Brdge Rd., Towson, MD 21286

The Charles H. Flowers High School is designed to function as an educational, cultural, and recreation activity center for the entire community. The 333,000-square-foot school accommodates up to 2,200 students. Together, the constraints of the site and the "community" concept drove the design process. The site constraints dictated that the building be a compact, clearly organized, multi-storied structure. To maximize the potential use of the school facility at different times by different community groups, the building provides easily secured zones with independent entrances and supervision for the academic, cultural, and recreational areas. Therefore, the major components of the program emerge as four distinctive individual elements within the total building form.

The educational, cultural and recreational characteristics of the individual quadrants helped determine their location within the building. Providing a strong presence on Ardwick-Ardmore Road, the main lobby and auditorium quadrant announce the building as a major educational and cultural presence in the community. The recreational quadrant opens to the adjacent stadium and playing fields. The three-story classroom and science/technology portion of the building faces the bus loop to allow for the most direct access for students into academic areas. A bright and open central space containing the student services connects to the four quadrants of the school and serves as the "social center" of the school community.

The location of the quadrants within the school encourages interaction between all students as they circulate throughout the building to participate in various activities. A compact, efficient plan and simple circulation pattern enable quick movement from one quadrant to the other. Together, these concepts address the planning objectives and create a unique high school design that celebrates the individual and encourages interaction between all members of the academic community.

Manufacturers/Suppliers
Exterior Walls - Entrances & Storefronts, Curtainwall: Kawneer; Metal Exterior Panels: Mapes Industries.
Roof - Skylight: Kawneer.
Floors - VCT: Durex.
Interior Walls - Lighting: Lithonia.Elevators - Thyssen Dover.