The architectural firm of John Ciardullo P.C. (JC) of New York and Hackensack, N.J., and general contractor E.W. Howell, with offices in Manhattan and Plainview, N.Y., are designing and constructing the new addition, respectively. When complete, it will help accommodate growing enrollment in the Dorothy Bonawit Kole School, which currently serves more than 1,100 students in grades K–8. The New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) will manage the project’s design and construction, and the project will be financed by the New York City Department of Education.

“This sorely needed addition to P.S./I.S. 49 is a true investment in our children and our community,” Council Member Crowley said in a statement. “New classrooms, including ones with computer and science labs, will give our local students the resources they need to build a strong foundation.”

The three-story, 26,000-square-foot addition will house 13 regular classrooms, two special education classrooms, three resource rooms, a medical suite, and an exercise room as well as an expanded cafeteria, according to a statement by JC Principal John Ciardullo, RA. The new building’s contemporary architecture will also reflect the exterior of the 2009 expansion, also designed by JC, and of the original school erected in 1933.

Further, the addition was designed in accordance with the NYC Green Schools Guide and Rating System, which specifies energy efficiency and healthy environment requirements as well as sustainable architecture and construction practices for New York City public schools, according to a statement by E.W. Howell Project Manager Robert Isbit.

The carefully planned addition will feature a partial basement, concrete foundation walls and footings, a structural steel frame, brick and masonry exterior walls, and a glass-and-aluminum curtain wall section. It will mirror the 2009 expansion, reflecting — in a modern interpretation — the architectural vocabulary and window rhythm of the original 1933 school building. The addition’s exterior wall will include red and off-white brick. A three-story high curtain wall section will frame windows at the termination point of hallways.

During construction, crews will partially remove an exterior wall of the 2009 expansion in order to seamlessly connect its corridors on all three floors to the new corridors within the addition as well as to the current main lobby. An existing cafeteria will be completely renovated and expanded into the new addition in order to accommodate the expanded student body. As part of the project, the team will also resurface the school’s play yard.

Also included in the project team are mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (M/E/P) engineer DVL Consulting Engineers of New York and Hackensack; New York-based civil engineer AKRF; and sustainability consultant EME Group of Albany, N.Y. JC’s design team includes Senior Project Architect Chuck Heaphy, Project Manager Jarrett Semkow, John Alvarado and Ardeny Goris.
 

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The school’s new addition features a three-story glass curtain wall façade that leads into a bright and inviting student center. Beyond that is a spacious, open plan cafeteria that can seat up to 600, giving the school a new venue for events. The space also includes an expansive student center, a dining facility, multi-purpose areas and an elevator to improve ADA accessibility. The focal point of the addition is a soaring tubular steel structure that creates a collaborative space for students to study, socialize and access services.

Designed by Wight & Company and built by Gilbane Building Company, both located in Chicago, the addition officially opened in time for the beginning of the current school semester in January. As the original school was built in 1901 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Kevin Havens, director of design for Wight & Company, explained in a statement that the Wight & Company team wanted to honor the building’s history and its elegance. A portion of the original limestone façade, which features Gothic entrance doors, became part of the new atrium, while the school’s interior still showcases original relief panels, marble wainscoting and decorative cast iron staircases.

"The architecture team envisioned a space that would serve as the heart of the school, connecting the new with the old," Havens said in a statement. "Our atrium design references elements of the Collegiate Gothic style of this landmark building, but does so in a modern way that is light and airy.”

"Our design solution features one of the limestone walls of the existing school and treats it like artwork on the interior of the new structure,” Havens continued. “It’s an approach that is both delicate and grand."

Tom Roth of Wight & Company, who served as project manager and senior designer, said the addition serves as the new front door to the school. "We heard time and again from residents that they see Joliet Central as a beacon for the entire community," explained Roth in a statement. "Our design is a physical manifestation of that idea. At night, the three-story atrium glows like a lantern, making its strong presence known in downtown Joliet."

"This addition is about preparing us for the future, but it was also very important to us that this new building maintained the historic feel and flow of our campus,” said Superintendent Dr. Cheryl McCarthy in a statement. "The design accomplishes both just beautifully. It literally takes your breath away."

Groundbreaking on the project, which was shaped by a significant amount of community input, took place in May 2014. Construction was completed in several phases. Wight served as the designer and architect of record for the project, and also provided structural engineering, MEP engineering, interior design and landscape architecture services.
 

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After a January vote approving work at both Gallup Hill School and Ledyard Middle School, school board members have added O&G Industries of Torrington, Conn., the state’s largest privately held construction firm, to the project team. O&G will act as construction manager for the $28.6 million expansion and renovation project at Gallup Hill School and the $35.6 million expansion and renovation of Ledyard Middle School.

School officials have been reviewing options for consolidating, closing, expanding or renovating the school facilities for several years. Previous analyses have looked at site conditions, exterior and interior facility conditions, mechanical and electrical needs, code compliance issues and asbestos abatement.

Gallup Hill School, which will remain fully occupied during construction, was built in 1965 and hasn’t undergone any major renovations or additions since it was completed. Construction on the 14.6-acre site will expand the facility from 40,000 square feet to more than 86,000 square feet. The project’s primary focus is on increasing the Pre-K-6 school’s overall capacity. Upon completion, the student body will nearly double from 350 to just less than 700. Once all work is complete, the added capacity will allow for the closure of Ledyard Center School.

Ledyard Middle School, built in 1971, currently serves just seventh- and eighth-grade students. However, construction will expand the facility from 75,000 square feet to 93,000 square feet, allowing the school to add another full grade. Once completed, the renovated-to-new school will serve more than 550 sixth to eighth graders, consolidating all of the district’s sixth graders into a single facility. The school also shares a nearly 40-acre site with both Juliet W. Long School and Gales Ferry School.

Architecture, engineering and interior design collaborative Silver/Petrucelli + Associates of Hamden, Conn., is serving as the project architect. The firm has worked with the district since 2013 on studies, preliminary design recommendations, floor plans and budgets. Construction on both projects is anticipated to begin in January 2017.
 

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Based on the results of a feasibility study by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the North Haven Building Committee determined a hybrid design was the school’s best improvement option. The design calls for construction of a new academic addition at the front of the existing middle school, demolishing the classroom wings located at the rear of the school and like-new renovations to common spaces.

The project team includes New York-based design firm Perkins Eastman; engineering firm Diversified Technology Consultants of Hamden, Conn.; Gilbane Building Company of Providence, R.I., which is serving as the construction manager; and Seattle-based project manager Colliers International.

North Haven Middle School was constructed in 1960 and currently serves approximately 773 students in sixth to eighth grades. The school was deemed “out of date and minimally adequate for a 21st century middle school,” according to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges report. Problems included significant roof leaks, air-quality complaints, necessary boiler upgrades and inadequate power.

The school’s academic addition will contain a number of new spaces, including classrooms, science labs, administrative offices, a nurses’ suite, an entry lobby and a media center or library. Classrooms will typically span 800 square feet and will be large enough to accommodate 20 to 25 students. The two-story academic addition will connect with the existing commons space, creating a dynamic, light-filled multifunctional commons area. It will provide a centralized crossroads for students, faculty and families to gather, connect and learn as well as much-needed breakout space for large crowds attending performances, athletic events and town meetings. The building’s glazing will provide an abundance of natural light and views of the surrounding campus.

“Perkins Eastman is pleased to join the community and leadership of North Haven Public Schools in transforming this well-used school into a new integrated learning and teaching facility where the next generation of middle school students can explore and develop their interests in an environment that is light-filled, comfortable and safe,” said Perkins Eastman Principal Joseph Costa.

The project team is also planning for other construction that includes accessibility enhancements; new mechanical, engineering, plumbing and life safety systems; new technology connectivity and electronics; new security systems; and new finishes.

Renovated, like-new projects attempt to optimize cost and eligible state reimbursement grants by taking advantage of an existing school’s amenities and virtues while repairing or replacing components that — because of age, code or educational needs — are no longer usable in a modern school setting, according to information from the project’s website. Connecticut encourages like-new renovations as an incentive to re-use existing schools by providing grant funding to repair or replace components that otherwise would not be eligible under statutory limitations. Typically, a town’s eligibility rate for a renovation project is 10 percent higher than the eligibility rate for an all-new school structure.

However, the website notes, it must be recognized that, by providing additional funding incentives, the state requires that the school be brought up to code and that the resulting school facility provide a life expectancy equivalent to that of a new structure. Consequently, comprehensive improvements, interior and exterior, must be included within the scope of the project and are not subject to discretionary consideration.

For North Haven Middle School’s exterior, the façade was designed for compatibility and continuity with the existing high school portion. Traditional sloped roofing tops the new academic wings while large overhangs provide shading and protect the building’s facade. All existing mechanical and electrical systems will be replaced with new energy-efficient digital controlled systems that will provide finely tuned climate control for all spaces. The school will also meet or exceed Connecticut High Performance (Green) Building Standards for energy efficiency, sustainability and occupant comfort.

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The new Athletic & Wellness Center will result in a fivefold increase in indoor space for the school’s wellness, athletic and performing arts programs. Upon completion, Newton Country Day School students will enjoy a new dance studio, four squash courts, a training room, changing rooms and bathroom facilities, a wellness lounge and classroom, a double-court gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, and a multipurpose fitness area. School staff and administrators will also be able to take advantage of new dance and athletic department offices and added storage space. These stakeholders — plus community members and other visitors — will benefit from various site developments such as improved parking and new circulation roadways.

The Athletic & Wellness Center was designed by D’Agostino Izzo Quirk of Somerville, Mass., and is being built by Erland Construction with offices in Burlington, Mass., and East Windsor, Conn. Compass Project Management of Medfield, Mass., is providing both pre-construction and construction-phase services as well as serving as the owner’s representative.

D’Agostino Izzo Quirk partnered with the school in 1997 to provide master planning services for all academic, arts and physical education facilities, and designed the school’s north addition in 2001. Erland Construction has also previously worked with the school and completed its award-winning library addition, also designed by D’Agostino Izzo Quirk, in 2007.

“We are pleased to be enhancing the beautiful campus at Newton Country Day with a facility that supports health, well-being and team spirit among the girls at this secondary school,” Erland Project Manager Elizabeth Martin said in a statement. “The wellness center will contribute to a well-rounded education for generations of NCDS students.”

Newton Country Day School is an independent Catholic school for girls in grades five through 12, and currently more than 85 percent of the student population participates in athletic programs, according to school literature. Construction crews broke ground on the center in December 2014, and the project is scheduled for completion in May 2016.

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The renovation will allow Dream Lake Elementary School, which had an original rated capacity of 460 students, to hold an additional 370 (for a total capacity of 830). The school’s current enrollment is 824.

The newly renovated school will include a new classroom building, and the district also plans to renovate two existing classroom buildings and update the current technology.

During the renovation the elementary school will remain closed. Dream Lake Elementary students will attend classes at the former Apopka High School ninth grade center until the renovation is complete.

The bidding and interview process for contractors began in September of 2014, and the final decision was made on Oct. 22, 2014. Charles Perry Partners Inc., a leading contracting firm based in Gainesville, Fla., was chosen as the general contractor for the project. The company has worked on several other Orange County schools, including Westridge Middle School and Freedom Middle School, both located near Orlando, Fla.

Harvard Jolly Architecture Inc., a design firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla, will design dream Lake Elementary. The company has designed more than 10 million square feet of learning environments, amounting to more than $1.8 billion in construction. The Harvard Jolly team will work with the Dream Lake Elementary School administrators and faculty throughout the redesign.

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Designed by Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) of Santa Rosa, Calif., the new quad will serve as a central connection for student activity. The 17,000-square-foot space significantly modernizes the school campus, and remedies numerous visual barriers and accessibility issues that previously existed. It provides ample outdoor seating areas, a sloping artificial turf for student gathering, and informal amphitheater seating and a raised platform for student performances and presentations.

Meanwhile, the new cafeteria building — which replaced an older building that was demolished — comprises a café, food court and kitchen facilities, all contained beneath a lofty ceiling. A fully glazed wall with roll up doors and clerestory windows connects the dining space to the quad, giving it a more open and inviting character than the previous dining and servery space offered.

The cafeteria also has the potential to serve multiple uses. For example, the high ceilings provide an ideal indoor practice space for the school’s cheerleading, drill and flag teams. From an academic perspective, the three new science classrooms and prep spaces will accommodate growing enrollment in the school’s award-winning programs.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this new highly-functional and beautiful space we have for our students at Homestead to utilize,” said Fremont Union High School District Communications Coordinator Sue Larson in a statement. “We already have top-notch programs and educators and now have the facilities to match. We thank the entire project team for their creative, inspiring and dedicated work.”

“QKA has enjoyed a great relationship with FUHSD over the past few years, including the opening of the new Student Union at Cupertino High School in 2014, and it’s a fun opportunity for us to design spaces for the tech-minded Silicon Valley community,” said QKA Principal Mark Quattrocchi in a statement. “Similar to Cupertino, with this project for Homestead we wanted to mirror the open, collaborative environments of many of the office campuses in the area. I think we were successful and I look forward to seeing the students enjoy the space.”

Construction on the approximately $10 million quad building used a strong structural grid system; keeping costs low and concentrating funds on areas that will most impact the student experience. For instance, increasing daylighting through optimal window design was a particular focus of the project, reducing the need for artificial lighting in most spaces.

The project was funded by a $198 million modernization bond program that passed in June 2008, and is part of the district’s Implementation Master Plan. This bond also provided for improvement, expansion and sustainability projects at four other local high schools.

The project team included general contractor Lathrop Construction Associates Inc. of Benicia, Calif., program manager Kitchell of Phoenix and landscape architect Carducci & Associates Inc. of San Francisco.

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Brookwood School, a PK-8 coed day school, was initially founded in 1956 and served just 65 students. Today it maintains an enrollment of 400 students supported by 65 faculty members. The school administration identified a need for more classroom space in the lower school, as well as expanded dining facilities, and selected Windover Construction of Beverly, Mass. to lead the design-build project. Windover collaborated with the design firm of Siemasko + Verbridge, also of Beverly, and several other subcontractors.

Alongside improving the physical space, the projectâ€s overall goal was to create a feeling of welcoming and inclusivity within the school community. Construction took place during the school day and was completed in two phases. Phase I included the construction of four new classrooms, as well as a temporary student drop-off/pick-up.

Once students and teachers moved to the new areas, Phase II began with the demolition of the vacated kindergarten and first-grade wing for infill construction. This phase added new second and third grade classrooms (for a total of nine new classrooms), offices and skills rooms, updated locker areas, a large atrium “town square” area for assemblies, renovations to the existing kitchen and construction of a more than 7,400-square-foot, 220-seat dining hall with vaulted ceilings.

Each classroom was also equipped with a projector, screen and sound system while the town square area includes a large, 8-by-13-foot screen recessed into the ceiling and a distributed sound system, transforming the space into a high-tech multimedia area.

“Turning an elementary school into a construction site has its challenges of course, but that means it also offers an opportunity for innovation,” said Stuart Meurer, principal-in-charge of the project and vice president of Windover Construction, in a statement. “With careful planning, temporary access ways and a just-in-time orchestration of deliveries and subcontractors we were able to work around the schoolâ€s schedule rather than ask them to work around ours.”

“Safety around an active worksite was of course an issue, but it was never a concern – weâ€ve worked safely in tight and occupied sites before,” Meurer continued. “The real challenge was how to limit distractions for the students.”

In an effort to turn the process into a learning opportunity, the school administration and Windover representatives elected to incorporate the design/build project into the students’ curriculum. Instead of cordoning off the space through the duration, students assisted in the schoolâ€s groundbreaking, then participated in weekly tours of the construction site, created update reports, shot weekly videos of the progress and attended the topping out ceremony, signing the final beam before installation.

“A lot of credit has to go to the school administration and teachers for this project,” Meurer said. “Not every school would be open to allowing students to regularly tour a construction site. But they saw the value of this unique learning opportunity and created interesting programs to engage the students.”

Student videos of the construction process are available on the schoolâ€s website.

Learn more about the Brookwood School expansion and renovation project in the March/April issue of School Construction News.

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“You are the example of who we are as a people,” Biden said in a speech at the school’s dedication. “We never bend; we never break; we never stop; and we always rebuild, and that’s why I’m here. It’s remarkable.”

Joplin-based firm Universal Construction and a partnership of DLR Group of Kansas City and CGA Architects, also of Joplin, comprised the project’s construction and design team.

DLR Group and CGA Architects also developed the award-winning interim high school used by approximately 1,000 Joplin students since the summer of 2011. That project quickly transformed an abandoned, 88,000-square-foot retail complex into a working school. This allowed the team to refocus on establishing a new 488,000-square-foot, $92.2 million facility to serve up to 3,000 students on the school’s original site.

“DLR Group’s experience in Joplin has been an emotional journey. From the very beginning we knew the needs of students and the community were special and we didn’t want to let them down,” said DLR Group Principal Kevin Greischar in a statement. “Most districts don’t get the chance to test design concepts in a temporary facility before building a new high school. We took full advantage of this opportunity to allow the interim school to inform the design for the permanent school.”

The architecture team hosted a design charrette with a Community Stakeholder Design Team comprising Joplin High School staff, students and parents, as well as community members and local business leaders. Touring a number of 21st century schools across the country also helped district representatives develop their technology-focused “Career to College” vision for the new facility, which aims to prepare students for a successful life through relevant, real-world experience, according to a statement by DLR Group.

The school’s dynamic “Career to College” curriculum will allow older students to explore career pathways in the arts and communication, business and information technology, health and human services and the technical sciences on the school’s lower floors. Meanwhile underclassmen can explore technology, broadcasting, sciences, hospitality, culinary arts, automotive sciences, engineering, medical, and construction trades on the schools upper floors.

“Joplin High School is the most innovative high school in the country,” Greischar added. “The school is designed to support 21st century learning through flexible areas for collaboration and inquiry-based problem solving that will propel students toward success in a variety of careers.”

The campus also includes the newly designed 70,000-square-foot Franklin Technology Center, a career and technical facility open to other area schools and community members. A 1,250-seat auditorium, 2,500-seat gymnasium, two auxiliary gymnasiums and a black box theater with indoor/outdoor seating will expand spaces for recreation and the arts, while four student/staff safe rooms and one community safe room will provide shelter during future severe weather.

Sustainable design elements integrated into the school include a hydronic HVAC system, LED lighting, natural daylighting and rainwater harvesting system for irrigation.

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The Boston office of international design firm Perkins Eastman served as the project architect. In a statement on the project, Perkins Eastman Principal and market leader of the firm’s primary and secondary education practice area Sean O’Donnell AIA, LEED AP said, "Perkins Eastman is excited to celebrate this major construction milestone for this innovative community school with the City of Cambridge. We look forward to seeing the schools and the community enjoying its sustainable, high-performance learning environments in the near future."

Aside from providing students with a top quality educational facility, the $95 million Martin Luther King Jr. School was also designed to be a center of its community. The state-of-the-art complex will include a 40-student preschool and engaging community school and afterschool programs for all students. The design includes both a Lower School and an Upper School, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and the sixth through eighth grades respectively. These schools will operate as distinct "neighborhoods" connected by an internal thoroughfare that also offers access to the shared community spaces.

In an effort to extend learning into the surrounding environment, the school will include a City Sprouts garden, outdoor hard and softscape areas, a preschool playground, teacher’s patio and a courtyard garden featuring an indoor/outdoor performance space.

The firm also included a plethora of sustainable features, materials and systems that have put the school on target to achieve Net Zero energy. The building is projected to have an Energy Use Intensity 60 percent less than typical educational buildings in New England and will save energy through proper orientation, pervasive natural light in almost every space and high-performance roof and wall assemblies. The school will also offset energy demands through the use of photovoltaic panels mounted on the roof and south-facing facades, according to a statement by Perkins Eastman.

The Martin Luther King Jr. School was also designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, and includes a series of 65 geothermal wells, an automatic lighting dimmer system and gray water storage.

Speaking with Cambridge Day in June 2013, Deputy City Manager Richard C. Rossi commented on how the school’s sustainability goals will also serve to educate students, teachers and the broader community.

“The whole school community – those who work in the building, as well as the students and the parents – will get a real education about what net zero really means and how we can affect these energy savings,” Rossi said. “This really bodes well for the future as we move along with rebuilding schools in the city. This will be more and more of an important part of that agenda, and good too for the young kids in the school. They’re going to really learn things because they’re going to be part of it. They’re going to see energy savings in how they conduct their daily lives.”

Preliminary work on the school, including a feasibility study, began in early 2012, followed by hazardous material abatement and demolition. The new facility is set to open in time for the 2015-2016 school year.

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