Altman & Altman, Architects has been a trusted name in educational design services since 1912 and enjoyed an excellent reputation among K-12 and High Education clients. We have completed more than 450 educational projects and are among the first in technology and green building design. This tradition places Altman & Altman, Architects among the most experienced providers of educational facilities. Our goal remains the same—to provide excellence without sacrificing budgetary considerations.

Marclay Elementary School, Uniontown Area School District, was built to replace a two-story elementary school built in the early 1950’s. The old building was in very poor condition and had significant handicapped accessibility problems. It would have cost more to renovate than to replace it. The new K-5 school is 25,000 square feet, is smaller than the building it replaced and was one of the lowest cost per square foot schools built in Pennsylvania in 2005.

Laurel Highlands Middle School, Laurel Highlands School District, was converted from an existing junior high housing grades 7 and 8 to a middle school housing grades 6, 7 and 8. There were many unique challenges to this project. The School District wanted the grade 6 area to be separate and distinct from the 7th and 8th grades. The old school had a dysfunctional floor plan that required converting existing areas to different functions, reorganizing educational areas to provide better student, teacher and administrative flow patterns, and an addition for the 6th grade. The project included a new Technology Education Center, 900-seat gymnasium, new and updated science and computer labs. The 160,000 square foot school came in 10% under budget and the Pennsylvania Department of Education commented that it was an excellent design solution.

Greensburg Salem School District, Altman & Altman, Architects provides design services to maintain and repair to schools when major renovations, additions or new schools are not needed. Our experience specifying the best products, equipment, systems and their installation helps many school districts keep their facilities in good condition. During the last three years we have reroofed or are reroofing four Greensburg-Salem buildings, replaced HVAC equipment on three schools, replaced windows and designed other maintenance and repair projects for the district. All of these projects were completed within the budget.

We are in the process of completing the exterior restoration of the 1924 Greensburg High School, now used as the Greensburg-Salem Middle School. 1970’s vintage windows were replaced with new windows in 2007 that matched the original 1924 architectural appearance and additional masonry restoration is ongoing to preserve and restore the school. The school is located in the historical district of Greensburg, PA.

Bentworth Elementary Center, Bentworth School District, replaced two old elementary schools, one of which was designed by Altman & Altman in 1928. The new elementary center was built to accommodate approximately 650 students. The new school is located on the same site as Bentworth High School creating a campus. School Administrative offices were relocated to the new school. “The design and layout of this building is very educationally functional. The ebb and flow of student traffic patterns provides for the efficient movement of the students. “… the priority goal of increasing student achievement in a modern aesthetically pleasing environment is considered to be within reach by the Administration.” Superintendent at time of project.

Penn State University, Fayette Campus, The new Biomedical Technology Center for The Pennsylvania State University, Fayette Campus, was commissioned to Altman & Altman by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services. The two-floor, 28,000 square foot building includes science laboratories, nursing laboratories, classrooms, lecture hall, and academic offices. The unique shape of the lecture hall provides entrances from both floors, and has excellent site lines for viewing presentations and excellent acoustics.

Uniontown Area High School, a LEED® school, was a 253,000 square foot project to renovate and build additions that faced some unique and difficult challenges. The School was originally constructed in 1910 and had additions in 1927, 1954 and 1980. The school has a restricted urban site with limited space available for additions. There were major deficiencies in the school. After numerous design studies it became apparent that the best way to handle the additional classroom space needed (approximately 20 classrooms) was to build a 2-story addition between the end of the stadium and the 1980 section of the building. Further study indicated that it would be considerably more economical to add two additional floors to this addition to replace the 1910 structure and its surrounding corridors and ramps. The new addition tied into the 1980 section using a skylight atrium creating a very efficient, compact layout. The resulting design for the school corrected virtually all the problems with the old structure and created a high school comparable to and better laid out than many new schools. The school was bid and the bids were on budget. A newly elected school board cancelled the project.