Jimmy Carter Middle School
Jimmy Carter Middle School is located in an industrial and residential neighborhood on Albuquerque’s west side. With panoramic views of the Sandia and Manzano Mountains to the east, the school is designed to capitalize on these.
The school campus is divided into five separate buildings organized along a central Commons that serves as the main circulation and gathering space. Progressively widening from the main entry onward, the Commons can be used for an informal classroom space, sports event half-time break-out space, or reception area for a school performance. Situated on a sloping site, the Commons helps integrate the buildings with the site by incorporating a variety of level changes.
The design of the school was influenced by the materials and colors of traditional New Mexico architecture but blended with industrial forms and materials of a more contemporary time. Stone-like masonry walls are used to identify key elements such as the entry tower. They are also used to create a visual and sound buffer from the existing industrial areas to the south. Deep-set openings in these south facing facades allow for passive solar control.
The Design
Due to the west side location with its prevailing westerly winds and a need for student gathering areas, a large commons space was created to address inclement weather conditions and improved student interaction and monitoring by staff. The large commons space is normally the circulation corridor. It was programmatically enlarged to address the need for the gathering space as well as egress requirements.
- 107,000 sf
- Master plan
- Architecture
- Administration and support
- Media Center
- Cafetorium
- Computer labs
- Band/chorus rooms
- Industrial shop
- Home Economics
- Science labs
- Separate 6, 7 & 8 grade classroom wings
- Vocational education building
- 2001 AIA Merit Award
News
Employee Spotlight With Vanessa Garcia
Vanessa is a licensed architect and joined our team in November 2021 with over 17 years of valuable experience. Her current focus is in our Higher Education Studio, but she is a well-rounded architect with experience designing for office buildings, K-12 education, community centers and nursing homes. What motivated you to get in this field […]
ABF’s 40 Under 40: Renn Halstead hopes to design the next big goal of his career as an architect
Renn Halstead said a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into getting him to where he is today. Halstead made it through graduate school at the University of New Mexico as a single father. With that, he considers becoming a licensed architect his greatest professional achievement. Now an associate architect with FBT Architects — the youngest […]
International District Urban Agriculture Plan Selected Design for the Common Good Exhibition
Groundwork Studio and Bernalillo County are excited to announce the International District Urban Agriculture Plan project was selected to be a part of the Design for the Common Good International Exhibition. The exhibit is currently running at the Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Center for Visual Art through March 19, 2022. Project submissions from the Rocky Mountain West and […]
2021 NAIOP Awards
We’re proud to have three projects honored at the 2021 NAIOP Awards! Thank you to all the teams whose hard work made these projects successful. Eagle Award for Excellence The Jicarilla-Apache Wellness Center UNM Johnson Center Renovation and Expansion Award of Merit CNM Marketplace Jicarilla-Apache Wellness Center – Eagle Award of Excellence The Jicarilla-Apache […]
Welcome, Henry Reitwiesner!
FBT Architects is excited to announce that Henry Reitwiesner has joined their Colorado Springs team as a Project Executive after retiring from Academy District 20. Henry has been invested in educational architecture for over 25 years, with a depth of experience in facilities’ management, construction supervision and contract administration. After more than two decades employed […]
SNL Building 706 Agile Wins ABC NM Eagle Award
Sandia National Laboratories’ 706 Agile Lab project was awarded the Eagle Award (top award in its category) at the 2021 Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction Awards. FBT is proud to be a part of this team with Noresco, Smith Engineering, Jensen Hughes, EEA Consulting Engineers and Thompson Construction Inc. Designed for LEED Gold, […]
Groundwork Studio Hires Toby Levin
Toby Levin joins Groundwork Studio and FBT Architects as a Landscape Designer. He brings a diverse history, having worked as an actor and in philanthropic administration before turning to landscape architecture. Toby is drawn to urban spaces that connect people with natural processes and works to balance the needs of these sometimes-competing interests. He enjoys […]
Groundwork Studio Hires Erika Robers
Erika Robers joins Groundwork Studio and FBT Architects with a background in education, community-based research and program development. Her love for the outdoors, plants and nature-based education led her to pursue a degree in community, environmental and natural resource planning. Planning outdoor student learning events and her time organizing and teaching recent immigrants informs Erika’s […]
FBT Hires Cheyenne Gurule
FBT welcomes Cheyenne Gurule to our team as an Intern Architect. Cheyenne applies her detail-oriented approach to FBT’s projects, working at the production level to turn big picture ideas into a built reality. She is most inspired when culture, community and innovation converge to form beautiful architecture. Her interests include the many facets of sustainability […]
FBT Hires Nicholas Morse
FBT welcomes Nicholas Morse to our team as an Intern Architect. Nicholas is driven by a desire to improve individual and societal wellbeing through conscientious dialog between the built environment and the natural world. He is intrigued by passive natural systems that reduce our carbon footprint and blur the line between architecture and the landscape–such […]