Synergizing the Future

The new Career and Technical Education Center: designed with both current and future industry needs in mind

By: Christina Hunter Villeda

Industrial growth and devel opment are exponentially expanding in the Coastal Bend. The growing industries indicate a high need in educating younger generations to produce a skilled workforce for the future.

Adjacent to Gregory-Portland High School, the Career and Technical Education Center will serve as a training center for Gregory-Portland Independent School District (GPISD). Although located and specified for GPISD, the facility will be able to accept students in surrounding school districts if those school systems do not have similar training capabilities.

GPISD synergized with surrounding industrial companies to formulate an idea of what these companies foresee in expanding workforce areas while still addressing current workforce needs. Not only does educating the younger generation best serve the Coastal Bend by providing a highly necessary and educated workforce – the center stimulates well-paying jobs that retain and sustain the next generation. This synergy of mixing education with industrial needs developed the design basis for the new education center.

Flexibility and adaptation are key concepts in the center’s design, as technology and equipment are always changing. The floor plan allows easy access between classrooms for cross-pollinating ideas and programs. Throughout the entire

complex, color informs students of structural interior elements. The metal joists, structural columns and fur downs in front of the classrooms are painted in a variety of colors, reflecting the industrial bones of the structural system. The center holds six work bays connected by a central corridor. Three work bays are designated for industrial and electrical programs, and the other three support health science curricula. Each work bay has a four-fold door allowing large equipment in and out of the space. At the entrance, a formal reception space greets walk-ins with an adjacent maker-space room to display student work for industrial partners and visitors to view.

The exterior of the building mirrors the nearby Gregory-Portland High School’s radial roof system. The center’s semiarc language coexists with the campus’ architectural language. At the break of the arcs, clerestory windows allow light into the central interiors of the structure. The exterior also imitates the vibrant blue and red Gregory-Portland High School colors.

“We’re looking forward to the program growing, and we expect to double the facility space as needs present themselves,” says Dr. Paul Clore, GPISD superintendent. Clore also foresees the center as a hand-in-glove operation with Del Mar College, as the curriculum centers on dual credit and certification-based programs.

The Career and Technical Education Center strives to be a model for growing the regional workforce foundation, and to continue developing local industry.

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