K-12

Punta Gorda Middle School

Punta Gorda, FL

Charlotte County Public Schools | 185,000 SF | 2010

Following its destruction by Hurricane Charley in August 2004, Harvard Jolly designed a modular campus to house students during the design and construction of a permanent replacement school. Built on the site of the original school, the 185,000 square foot Punta Gorda Middle School has space for 1,197 students.

The team interviewed all teachers and staff, and invited the end users to visit a number of Harvard Jolly's designs. Charlotte County Schools eventually chose our three-story middle school prototype due to the intimate, compact nature of the plan. As such the school is well connected and alleviates the atmosphere of remoteness that may be seen in other designs.

Although based on our original three-story prototype, the school was designed with a traditional aesthetic to reflect the City of Punta Gorda's architectural style. In addition, the school can withstand Category 3 hurricane winds and serve as a refuge in case of another hurricane.

Classrooms were outfitted with built-in LED projectors, document cameras, smart boards, and various other technologies. Before moving into the actual classrooms, teachers were trained how to use the new technologies in a mock-up classroom.

Punta Gorda Middle School is the first LEED Silver Certified middle school in Florida.