By Jennifer Mrozowski
Enquirer staff writer

A central entrance lobby tower that stands three stories tall is the focal point in the design of a new Shroder Paideia High School.

The school will be built in Madisonville.

Cincinnati Public School officials on Monday unveiled designs for the 100,842-square-foot school, which is expected to open in fall 2006.

The $13.5 million building is part of the district's $1 billion, 10-year construction project that includes 66 new and renovated schools. It will replace the 1956 Shroder Paideia on Lumford Place in Kennedy Heights. The current Shroder will eventually close.

The new Shroder, to be on the 8.8-acre site of the current Eastwood Paideia School on Duck Creek Road, will accommodate 600 students in grades 7-12. Eastwood will continue to operate during the construction of the new Shroder, but will eventually close and be demolished.

The new Shroder was designed by Voorhis, Slone, Welsh, Crossland Architects Inc. of Mason and is modeled in what's called a "transitional" style, said architect Earl Crossland.

The school's planning team, which included Shroder parents and staff, liked the transitional style, which combines historic elements in a clean, contemporary way, Crossland said.

Team members identified Hughes Center in University Heights as the type of architecture they liked, he said.

"We have basically taken elements of the Collegiate Gothic style, like in Hughes, and combined them in a fresh, new way," Crossland said. "It evokes the feeling of a more traditional school but has an up-to-date, contemporary look."

The Shroder design also includes an outdoor courtyard eating area for students, surrounded by a wrought-iron fence and brick piers. The school will be built so the academic spaces can be locked at night. The public still will be able to access the gymnasium, community room and other areas.

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E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com