Welcome to Safety
Ithaca City School District
6,000 SF Renovation
THIS IS THE BANNER IMAGE - MAKE SURE #banner APPEARS IN THE LINK
Ithaca City School District set out to address a main office located well into the interior of the building campus, no primary entry point for visitors at Ithaca High School and a scattered group of meeting spaces. Tetra Tech led the design process to create a new secure Welcome Center to solve these problems.
The project team analyzed the building’s layout and identified a central underutilized space adjacent to the bus loop and main parking are as a prime location for the new visitor entry.
Selecting materials from the existing palate on the campus, the design team seamlessly incorporated the welcome center into the architectural fabric of the existing multi-vintage building.
A new secure vestibule created a control point for visitor check-in. Different types of glass were strategically employed throughout the design to create sight lines for staff to monitor the entry courtyard and to allow visitors visual access into the entry area, while maintaining necessary physical barriers for security. Existing decentralized meeting spaces were consolidated into four private meeting rooms of varying size, from smaller informal spaces to larger rooms appointed to accommodate IEP and similar meetings.
Creating a welcoming and secure entrance to schools helps students, staff, and caregivers arrive at learning spaces calm and ready to engage.
