The architectural firm CDH Partners, Inc. announced in a press release that it received an Outstanding Award for excellence in educational facility design in the fall 2019 edition of Learning by Design, a magazine that highlights “education design innovation and excellence.”

The firm was given the award for its design for the performing arts center at South Cobb High School and was recognized by the magazine for its “architectural and interior design and for having next-generation, benchmark-type design and planning features worthy of imitation.”

The 32,000-square-foot center opened at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.

The facility combined the art rooms, which had been scattered around campus, into a single, centralized space for rehearsals and performances. It includes a “750-seat auditorium with support spaces including instructional units, a ‘black box’ theater, dance studio and gallery space in the lobby to exhibit student achievements.”

According to the press release, “All projects awarded in this edition of the magazine were peer-reviewed by a jury of six architects. The jury looks for unique and new concepts being implemented to improve education facility building design. Projects are scored on six measures: Innovation, Community Need, Interior Design, Sustainability, Functional Design, and 21^st Century Learning.”

Jury comments about the project included: “The front entrance invites school and community into the performances. The goal of reaching out to embrace the community is realized through the extended overhang, the angled columns, and the full glass walls in the background.”

“Our firm’s purpose is to improve lives through our design work, and I believe we achieved that through our partnership with South Cobb High School, said Melissa Cantrell, CDH Partners president and principal in charge of the project. “The team was able to create spaces that suit their specific needs and give students the appropriate tools to cultivate their artistic education. We feel honored by the opportunity South Cobb gave us and are grateful to be recognized by Learning by Design.”