Benson Polytechnic High School

benson polytechnic high school

Portland, Oregon

Client

Portland Public Schools

size

385,420 sf

year

2024

Bassetti is working closely with the Benson Polytechnic High School community to create a school that will maintain the historic importance of the campus while adding new buildings to modernize the school and add additional space for innovation. Benson is unique in that it is not a neighborhood school, but a focused option for students in the Portland Public Schools system that are interested in STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) and CTE (Career Technical Education). Benson students choose a tailored high school path for emphasis in a technical area.

The modernization will restore the historic 1916 main classroom building, the 1927 gym, and the 1930 auditorium. The project will completely reconfigure and update learning spaces with a focus on indoor environmental quality, sustainability, and historic preservation. The school will feature a student commons/ cafeteria in the heart of the school, adjacent to an enlarged student courtyard, a CTE work courtyard, and a co-located core academic and CTE learning spaces in new, two-story wings. The vision is to integrate academic and project based learning (CTE) into a cohesive learning experience for students by co-locating shops with classrooms and flexible collaboration areas