The choice of an architect is not a topic on which we normally would editorialize, but kudos are in order for the Andalusia Board of Education’s selection of Goodwyn Mills and Cawood as the architect for its new projects on the campuses of AES and AHS.

From the first night proposals were presented, it was evident that Goodwyn Mills’ Mike Hamrick gets how sentimental this community is about AHS and had a vision of designing a building that ties the original design into the new facility. Rather than build something that would be an obvious addition, he proposed designing a building that, 100 years from now, people would feel as strongly about as they now do AHS.

That ability has already been demonstrated in the beautiful renovation of Church Street Elementary School, another of Hamrick’s projects.

Kudos to the board for choosing to build for the long-term.