George Town, Cayman Islands

Located in George Town, Grand Cayman, the John Gray High School, completed by UK-based architecture studio Jestico + Whiles functions also as a community center and has a shelter for use during storm season.

A previous redevelopment of the school was halted during construction in 2012, in the wake of the financial crisis and amid concerns around the planned design.

Jestico + Whiles have designed the school to unify four existing structures on the site into one cohesive building.

At the heart of the school lies a large central space, which includes an open-plan canteen and a domed, timber-lined library elevated on stilts.

From this central area, classroom wings extend outward, connecting seamlessly with the old structures.

The building’s heart is a timber-lined library suspended above an open-plan canteen which acts as a gathering place, physically and socially connecting the school’s different departments across three wings.

The layout offers clear and simple wayfinding, efficient movement, and improved student safeguarding through passive supervision. A combination of generous breakout areas and small group rooms support flexible teaching and learning.

A solar control façade aims to maximise daylight whilst eliminating solar gain and glare. 

The landscape design uses indigenous planting and substantially reduces the need for irrigation.

John Gray High School is an innovative secondary school campus in Grand Cayman, co-designed with the school community to meet educational needs and help students flourish.

The design, centred around a social “heart,” responds effectively to the hot and humid climate.

Designed to be hurricane-resistant, the building doubles as a shelter and emergency refuge with space for more than 3600 occupants.

Project: John Gray High School Campus
Architects: Jestico + Whiles + Associates LIMITED
Lead Architects:  Julie Désormiers and Ben Marston
Client: Cayman Islands Government Ministry of Education
Photographs: Courtesy of the Architects