Volcano Vista’s architecture earns highest honors

Architectural Digest names school top in state

Architectural Digest has named Volcano Vista the most beautiful public high school in New Mexico.

The respected national magazine picked a winner from every state for the “highly selective” list, which was published earlier this month.

Volcano Vista High — a 10-yearold school at 8100 Rainbow Road NW — made the grade for the Land of Enchantment.

“It is really nice to receive recognition from outside the state,” said Karen Alarid, Albuquerque Public Schools executive director of capital operations. “We took the lessons that we learned on Volcano Vista and carried them through on every high school project that we’ve done.”

Volcano Vista High is one of the few modern buildings on the Architectural Digest list, which includes a number of Art Deco, Colonial Revival and Gothic entries.

The magazine highlighted Volcano Vista High’s “earthy” paint scheme and the “rust-colored obelisk” at the entrance.

When Volcano Vista opened its doors in 2007, it was APS’ first new high school in nearly 20 years.

TSK, an international architectural firm based in Las Vegas, Nev., and Albuquerque firm SMPC Architects designed the school to facilitate small-group learning.

Volcano Vista is divided into academies that give students more personal attention, and each is “treated as separate wings along a central spine,” SMPC said in a description of the school on its website.

“This also allows each spur to have maximum daylighting and views,” SMPC said.

El Paso High — a 101-year-old “grand Neoclassical” nicknamed “the Lady on the Hill” — was Architectural Digest’s winner for Texas.

Other entries are recognizable from television or history books.

Torrance High School in Southern California was a filming location for “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Arkansas’ Little Rock Central High School is well known as a battleground in the Civil Rights movement.

To see the complete list, go to architecturaldigest.com/gallery/most-beautiful-public-highschools-in-america.