Clayton County College & Career Academy

Morrow, GA

To help high school students explore career and higher education opportunities, Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) is establishing a College and Career Academy in Morrow, a suburb south of Atlanta, Georgia. Phase 1 of the academy prepares students for careers and training in aviation mechanics/avionics, artificial intelligence (including drones and robots), distribution and logistics and culinary arts pathways. Cooper Carry is providing design services to demolish a portion of the existing Morrow High School and provide an addition that will support CCPS in realizing its vision for the academy.

Going beyond a standard high school design, the new facility design takes its cue from the airfoil – the cross-sectional shape of an airplane’s wing. The two-wing form incorporates a central courtyard that is just as significant to the campus as the building’s interior spaces. With clean sweeping lines, aerodynamic detailing and a play on opaque and transparent surfaces, the school design aims to inspire students, faculty, and staff in the discovery process, while also providing practical, hands-on education. In addition to general classrooms, faculty and staff offices and common areas, the building includes an aircraft hangar, a flight simulation room, culinary classrooms, and robotics laboratories.