Progress Continues On Innovative STEM High School In Alpharetta

ALPHARETTA, GA — Design firm Cooper Carry recently announced new details for the forthcoming Innovation Academy (formerly known as North STEM) which is currently under construction in Alpharetta and one of two unique STEM schools the firm is working closely with Fulton County Schools to develop.

As a cross-collaboration between the firm’s K-12, Higher Education and Science & Technology Studios, the design for Innovation Academy incorporates highly adaptable spaces to support the evolving needs of students focused on Information Technology, Engineering and Health Sciences. Located on the site of the old Milton High School within steps of the new Alpharetta City Center, Innovation Academy is slated to open its doors in August 2021 with 9th and 10th grade classes. The school will be equipped to serve approximately 1,600 students between grades 9 through 12 at capacity.

Led by Bob Just, Mark Jensen, Nate Williamson and Sophia Tarkhan of Cooper Carry, the design for the 245,000-square-foot school is centered around a three-story atrium named Touchdown Commons, which runs through the spine of the building and will serve as a combination of the school’s cafeteria and media center. With elements similar to modern higher-ed environments, the multi-purpose space will be outfitted with movable seating and accessible technology to meet the diverse needs of STEM students, from eating lunch and impromptu studying to a robotics practice arena or roll-down projection screen for video lectures. The communal area will connect to an outdoor courtyard and maker space visible through expansive glass windows, which allows natural light to flood into classrooms as well as puts learning on display to passersby.

“Combining futuristic, tech-centric interiors to inspire student learning with traditional exteriors to reflect the fabric of the local community, the design of Innovation Academy represents the best of the past and the future for Fulton County Schools,” Just said. “This project presented our firm with a unique opportunity for collaboration between designers across multiple studios, and we’re excited to see our shared vision for Innovation Academy become a vibrant asset for North Fulton.”

Inside the school, the corridor walls will be made from a combination of glass windows and glass garage doors to allow transparency, while the interior dividers are made from stud walls for additional flexibility. Many rooms at the school will be constructed with a planning module using multiples of the same dimensions (11 feet wide by 30 feet deep which is conducive to laboratory design), enabling these spaces to be easily converted for alternative uses or adjust the size of a space.

“Fulton County Schools sought an architectural firm that could transform our educational vision into a school design that supports students wanting to study high-tech, high-demand STEM courses,” said Patrick Burke, the school system’s chief operations officer. “Cooper Carry’s expertise and experience in designing unique learning environments at the K-12 and post-secondary levels, as well as with private firms in the STEM industry, made them an ideal partner for our project.”

To inform the design plans for Innovation Academy, Fulton County Schools held multiple visioning sessions with members of the local community and school facility. In align with the look and feel of the surrounding area, the building’s exterior features brick and columns to complement the vernacular of the adjacent Alpharetta City Center, a 26-acre mixed-use property developed in partnership with the City of Alpharetta to expand the existing downtown historic district by six city blocks. The development includes the Cooper Carry-designed Alpharetta City Library, which opened in 2015.

Cooper Carry is also working closely with Fulton County Schools on the development of a sister STEM school located in Fairburn on the district’s south side. The school will also open during the 2021-2022 school year. For more information about South STEM School, visit Cooper Carry’s website here.

For more information on Cooper Carry’s K-12, Higher Education and Science + Technology Studios, visit the website here.