Holmes High School Addition and Renovation

Located on a prominent hill overlooking loop 410 in San Antonio, Oliver Wendell Holmes High School was originally built in the early 60’s with a unique circular design. The challenge was to meet the evolving needs of the school while also resolving the changing style of the campus. Primarily, the school required a much larger library and more classrooms for different departments. With some careful reorganization, Alamo Architects expanded the library at its existing location, keeping it at the heart of the campus and moved the classrooms to a new 30,000 sq. ft. building. This new building redirects the primary focus upon entering the campus and creates a clear, distinct point of entry.

Renovation of the Business Careers High School, which is independently operated on the grounds of the High School was also part of the scope. Located at the rear of the campus is an administration addition and entry feature which provides a more prominent façade for Visiting Lecturers and mentoring staff.

In the spring of 2005 the district chose to move its Excel Academy to the Holmes Campus. The Excel Academy seeks to educate and graduate students who had not been able to prosper in a traditional high school setting. The project involved renovating approximately 16,000 sq. ft. of existing space into an administrative area, student directed computer classrooms and the home economics department.