HMFH Architects

The design of the new Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School integrates traditional academics with modern career technical education (CTE) programs in a forward-looking educational model. The new high school is configured around a courtyard and central hub of shared public spaces—including an auditorium, cafeteria, and media center—and will accommodate 1,434 students in state-of-the-art shops and labs for 19 CTE programs.

Career technical education spaces are grouped in program-based clusters to create small learning communities that foster collaboration and share resources. Each cluster includes specialized spaces for skill-based learning along with traditional classroom spaces for lecture-based instruction. For example, programs in Robotics, Engineering, and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) are clustered with computer labs and technology, while Automotive, Carpentry, and Electrical Technology occupy double-height shop areas with garage door openings to accommodate their large-scale, hands-on projects.

Project areas are interspersed with academic classrooms throughout the school to support Bristol-Plymouth’s vision of an integrated educational environment that promotes diverse learning.

From the exterior, the new school communicates Bristol-Plymouth’s mission to its students, faculty, and visitors. Public-facing programs such as Culinary, Cosmetology, Graphics, and Child Care are located along the south-facing façade, with adjacent visitor parking, clear signage, and bold graphics to promote their services to the greater community. The synergistic relationship between academic and career technical education manifests in the architectural language of the building’s exterior, with career technical spaces expressed in a modern architectural vocabulary, while the academic zones are more traditionally expressed.