School will let the sunshine in

The new Carrboro High is airy and green-friendly, and its windows are huge

CARRBORO -- It's been pitched as a kinder, gentler high school.

So far, it's a kinder, gentler construction site. Still, a look through Carrboro High's under-construction interior suggests the building is poised to deliver on much of its promise.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board members took their first tour through the building Wednesday. Most were struck by its faithfulness in evoking Carrboro's mill-town architecture, which relies heavily on brick and large windows.

The floors are still dirt-caked, wires jut from the ceiling, and construction workers' whistles reverberate down the hall.

But by August, officials expect to open one of North Carolina's most unique high schools.

BRICKWORK: This is the school's defining feature. Inside and out, the walls appear rough-hewn and spattered with mortar. There are no neat lines. Called the "tumbled brick" look, it simulates the building's muse, the town's old Carr Mill, which has been converted to a boutique mall.

WINDOWS: They're everywhere. Ringing the ceiling tops. Occupying stretches of classroom walls. Opening up large rooms to a woodsy view.

Beyond offering a softer alternative to fluorescent lighting, the windows save electricity. And from a few rooms, you can see the UNC-Chapel Hill bell tower through the trees.

THE DINING/COMMON AREA: This is the school's heart, an airy space overlooked by a second-story mezzanine, or intermediate second floor.

Students will eat here or on a patio outside the room's broad Carr Mill-inspired windows. The nearby cafeteria area will contain many serving stations, promoting quick pickups rather than long lines. This entire area is intended also for performances and public meetings.

MEDIA CENTER: It is separated into three zones: loud, quiet and somewhere in between.

There will be no shushing in a noise-friendly area, a place where students can chat as they work on projects. In a more studious area, high ceilings acoustically complement a sense of quiet. A space between the two is designed for moderate noise.

The media center, like many parts of the school, offers wireless Internet.

CLASSROOMS: They are fitted with large windows and walls that will be painted off-white to reflect sunlight.

Teachers, instead of planning lessons inside the classroom, will be encouraged to plan in four outside workrooms. This is intended to promote collaboration and make them less possessive of classrooms.

GREEN-FRIENDLINESS: Daylight and solar panels will curb the power bill. All of the water runoff will filter through soil and funnel into a large retainer pond. From there, the water will be processed and used to flush toilets and irrigate fields.

KEY FIGURES: It is an 800-capacity school, but because seniors won't attend the first year, it will open with roughly 500 students. It cost $34 million to build and was originally supposed to open last year.

MASCOTS: It is down to Cardinals, Jaguars or Kodiaks.

School officials are counting ballots filled out by students who will attend next year. School colors correspond to each mascot.

* Cardinals: red, navy blue and white.

* Jaguars: purple, black and white.

* Kodiaks, an Alaskan breed of brown bear: green, navy blue and white.