O&G Industries was the construction manager for the JCJ Architecture designed $82.5M new 148,122 SF New Fairfield High School which opened to students for the 2023-24 school year.
The original high school was connected to the town’s middle school and shared significant core spaces. The new high school was constructed adjacent to the existing building. The current classroom wing and auditorium are now set to be demolished, and the original gymnasium and natatorium will remain. The existing middle and new high schools are now separate buildings connected by a pedestrian plaza.
JCJ’s design brought a lot of natural light into the building and created a college-campus feel with spaces like the dining commons. The academic core spaces are in a three-story wing with cross-disciplinary central learning neighborhoods, combining science and general classrooms with faculty collaboration, breakout, seminar and conference spaces, and special education resource rooms. Career Technical Education (CTE) is integrated with the inclusion of project areas for collaboration between specialties. A strong connection at the middle level to the learning commons brings together all the learning neighborhoods and the school’s design lab and media productions lab. A performing arts wing behind the stage provides direct access to the auditorium; spaces will include instrumental, vocal, and practice rooms.