WALNUT HILLS HIGH SCHOOL
- SCIENCE GARDEN

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

 

Client: Walnut Hills High School Development Foundation

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Size: 2 acres

 

A major, privately funded renovation has been undertaken at Walnut Hills High School, one of the most elite public college preparatory schools in the United States. As part of this project, an innovative outdoor learning facility was created in conjunction with the art and science wing expansion.

 

In order to ensure the academic and aesthetic success of the project, goals were established that would allow: science learning experiences, outdoor art displays and a studio workplace, varying exhibits, informative and inspiring quotes, the integration of information consistent with the unique Jeffersonian liberal arts heritage, and educational elements for all other of the school’s subjects.

 

The resulting courtyard design combined a number of science area exhibits and learning possibilities. Examples included raised ecological planting beds, an aquatic garden, science learning columns, a physics space frame, and measurement tiles.

 

The art / sculpture plaza provided an artful and flexible outdoor space for the display and creation of  artwork. Elements included a Moundbuilders Culture Effigy earthmound, cast concrete fence support columns capped with capitals, two narrative stone art columns / steles, and quotations from noted scholars through time integrated into the design.