AUBURN – Harriman Associates Architects and Engineers has received the prestigious Shirley Cooper Award for design excellence for its design of Noble High School in North Berwick.

The award is co-sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators, the American Institute of Architects and the Council of Educational Facility Planner International.

It recognizes excellence in educational facilities planning, design and construction.

Harriman Associates was honored at the Exhibition of School Architecture conference in San Francisco in February.

The Shirley Cooper Award is the 11th award given to Harriman for its design of Noble High School.

“We are especially honored that Noble was selected for this award.

“The design was developed in a truly democratic process,” said Harriman Associates architect and partner Daniel W. Cecil.

“Community involvement in the design was intense, involving teachers, staff, students, parents and administrators, and included a workshop open to everyone in the three towns in the school district. Noble is truly a community school.”

Noble High School is designed to support innovative teaching techniques in use in the district, which participates in a national organization, the Coalition of Essential Schools.

The academic wing has 15 self-contained learning communities, each for 100 students who are taught by an interdisciplinary team.

At the heart of the building is a sky lighted, two-story “town square” with benches along the windowed corridors, which is a magnet for students to gather.

A performing arts wing has a 1,000-seat theater and teaching space for art, music and applied technology.

Extensive community use is encouraged with a child-care center, adult education center, health-care clinic and a restaurant staffed by culinary arts students.

Harriman Associates provides architecture and engineering design services for education, government, commercial and health-care clients throughout New England.

It has offices in Auburn and Portland, as well as Portsmouth, N.H. People can find more information about this firm, the sixth-oldest design firm in the United States, at www.harriman.com.