IBM Building Implodes to Make Way for New North Atlanta High

In a matter of about 30 seconds, one large building fell in a plume of dust to make room for the new North Atlanta High School.

Around 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, Atlanta Demolition imploded one of two buildings at the former IBM Campus, located at 4111 Northside Parkway NE in Atlanta. The demolition of the Hillside Building will make way for the new North Atlanta High School, which will move from its current location at 2875 Northside Drive NW in Atlanta in August 2013.

The crowd began to trickle in at about 6 a.m. and grew to about 100 people by the time the explosives inside were ignited.

The new North Atlanta High School will accommodate 2,350 students.

After the Hillside Building is razed, the team will build the 105,000-square-foot Assembly Building, which will include a 600-seat auditorium, a 150-seat black box theater, a 2,100-seat competition gymnasium and a practice gymnasium. The other building on the former IBM campus, the Lakeside Building, will be converted into classrooms, offices, a library and a cafeteria.

Atlanta Public Schools selected Cooper Carry’s K-12 education practice group as the Architect of Record to work in collaboration with Collins Cooper Carusi and Paul Cheeks Architects for the architectural design.  

JE Dunn Construction is the construction manager for the project. The construction team working on this project is the same team that completed the multi-phased renovations to the original North Atlanta High School, which will be repurposed into a middle school upon completion of the replacement school.

“The implosion of the Hillside Building marks an important milestone in the commencement of the new North Atlanta High School and will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” stated Bob Just, director of Cooper Carry’s K-12 education practice, in a release. “We are proud to be part of this historic project, which will be one of the few high-rise high schools in the country.”