‘Castle on the Hill’ Makes its Debut – Ribbon Cutting of Camden’s New $133M High School

DIGroup Architecture added to its pristine reputation of delivering large urban school replacement projects to communities throughout New Jersey with the ribbon-cutting of the new Camden High School — a sprawling, four-school campus totaling 270,000 square feet for 1,200 students in grades 9-12. In a design-build partnership with Ernest Bock & Sons of Philadelphia, the two-story educational structure features three magnet schools: Creative Arts High School; Big Picture Learning Academy; and Charles Brimm Medical Arts High School.

Reverence for the original 1916 Camden High School, demolished in 2017, and its iconic role in the neighborhood’s history, growth, and presence as an anchor of the city, was a prominent theme through the design and reconstruction of the replacement school. DIG helped integrate significant elements of the former historic high school building’s original construction into the fabric of the new High School—establishing a legacy site of both the history and future of Camden. Such iconic pieces as the arch from the former school’s main entrance and others were carefully installed throughout the campus and serve as interpretive exhibits to educate and celebrate the history of Camden High School as a community centerpiece.

Crucially important to the project was the involvement of the local community and the students themselves, who participated in the design process. According to Principal Jeffrey Venezia, “We are thrilled to have once again completed an important project for the urban public-school students of NJ here in Camden. Creating a safe, secure and sustainable facility connected to its rich and diverse history has been both an honor and a privilege for all of us at DIG.”

As the first public high school to be constructed in over a century in the City of Camden, this is a new era for the students who are welcomed into a light-filled, modern learning environment with an abundance of offerings from classrooms, science and robotic labs, broadcast studios, and maker spaces, to performance venues, fitness spaces, locker rooms and courtyards.