High school moves to head of class with renovations, addition

With renovations and added space, Mukwonago High School is meeting the needs of its large student body and fulfilling modern learning requirements.

The high school was built in 1971 on West Veterans Way in Mukwonago, originally designed to hold around 1,000 students; it now has more than 1,600.

The recent nearly $41 million project added 93,553 square feet of space and renovated another 110,056 square feet.

Renovations were made to the school’s cafeteria and serving kitchen, which were central to the project.

The cafeteria, expanded to be able to accommodate more students, has large skylights, helping make the space seem bigger while bringing in plenty of natural light.

Ryan Schmidt of C.G. Schmidt, the general contractor on the project, said he and his colleagues have received a lot of praise for their work. Schmidt said that even though the project took place in a building were classes were taking place, crews were still able to finish on schedule and under budget.

“It really kind of transformed the high school,” Schmidt said.

Connected to the cafeteria, upper and lower commons spaces offer a variety of seating and collaboration space, giving students plenty of choices during lunch and free periods.

Further renovations were made to the school’s library, which now has a round circulation desk to make it more convenient for students to talk to staff employees.

The area also has small group-work rooms with a variety of furniture and glass walls that allow students to be monitored while working independently or in small groups.

A final piece of the project was a new gymnasium and auditorium. The auditorium has a 3,600-square-foot stage, 2,000 square feet of stage storage and scene-shop space and seating for 800.

Clint Selle of Milwaukee-based Bray Architects said project officials also sought to improve classrooms on the second floor.

“A big focus was widening the corridor and bringing natural light into the space,” Selle said.

Rather than try to blend the new addition into older parts of the building, crews were able renovate most of the facade, giving it what they felt to be a more appealing exterior.

“To some extent the direction we were given was to give the building a new look,” Selle said. “In the end it was kind of the inverse of what you do normally.”