NEW YORK — The new Pre-K Center 613 facility was recently selected as one of the winners of the Concrete Industry Board’s Award of Merit for best design in concrete.

Located at 369 93rd Street in Brooklyn, the new three-story school is sited in a dense urban block surrounded by residential buildings, developed by the New York City School Construction Authority and designed by MDSzerbaty Associates Architecture as part of Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s “Pre-K-For-All” initiative.

“We are grateful for the challenges given to us by the SCA to consider alternate systems for the structure and envelope to expedite construction,” said Michael Freedman, principal of MDSzerbaty Associates Architecture. “Our use of a concrete structure, prefabricated precast wall panels and curtain wall resulted in a high quality, energy-efficient building that was constructed in record time.”

The rest of the project’s team includes: Thornton Tomasetti (Weidlinger Associates, Inc.) as structural engineer of record, NYC SCA Construction Management as construction manager, T. Moriarty & Son, Inc. as general contractor, Darcon Construction, Inc. as concrete subcontractor (foundation and superstructure), BPDL Inc. (Béton Préfabriqué du Lac) as concrete subcontractor (precast), U.S. Concrete-New York as ready mix concrete supplier, and Future Tech Consultants of NY, Inc. as the field testing laboratory.

The building is a concrete structure with a highly efficient precast concrete, curtain wall and metal rain screen envelope that exceeds energy code requirements. Expansive glass surfaces with shade control brings significant natural light to interiors.

The school is also honored for its outstanding design in the 2018 American School and University Architectural Portfolio, a premier showcase celebrating the best in educational design.

The school provides 14 classrooms for 252 students and includes administration offices, a community room and a clerestory-lit multi-purpose room at the cellar level. The interiors use a variety of materials that tie together common and classroom spaces with a soft yet vibrant color palette. The front yard setback provides space for outdoor play areas.

To shorten the construction duration, a reinforced concrete frame with architectural insulated precast wall panels were chosen for their ability to be rapidly constructed and erected.

The building is a Certified NYC Green School, equivalent or greater than LEED for Schools Certification.

The post New Pre-K Center in Brooklyn Receives Design Award appeared first on School Construction News.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Shawmut Design and Construction joined the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to break ground on the institute’s first new student residence in 30 years.

Designed by award-winning architect and RISD alumnus Nader Tehrani and his Boston-based firm NADAAA, the new 43,500-square-foot residence hall will house 153 students on six floors. Part of a larger quad enhancement project, it will feature amenities like workrooms, makerspace, bike storage, a shared kitchen, and outdoor terrace, and upon completion, it will allow for the phased renovations of Nickerson and Homer Halls.

“We’re incredibly proud to build RISD its first new residence facility in 30 years,” said Ron Simoneau, vice president at Shawmut. “With collaboration, paired with Shawmut’s IPD and lean construction principles, at the center of the construction and design teams approach, I am confident this project will be a success while marking a transformational moment for the campus.”

Slated to open in August 2019, the state-of-the-art project will engage an Integrated Project Delivery Method (IPD) to collaboratively fuse the talents of the team. The innovative design is influenced by thoughtful input from the campus community, including common spaces for socializing, making, reflecting and creative expression, and is tailored to meet the needs of RISD’s art and design students.

The new residence hall will be located at 60 Waterman St. on the campus’ residential quad. Site work on the new residence building began this August and included excavation and retaining wall construction. In June 2019, renovation of Nickerson Hall begins and is expected to be completed in August 2020. At that time, Homer Hall Phase 1 renovation will begin and will be completed in January 2021. Phase 2 of the Homer Hall renovation begins in January 2021 and will be complete in August of that same year.

Construction of the new residence hall is one facet of RISD’s 2015 Campus Master Plan. One update to the original plan was that RISD engaged NADAAA in the fall of 2016 for a study of the campus’ residential quad. The goals of the study were to develop 500 beds of interconnected first-year housing on the residential quad, to allow for the renovation of Homer and Nickerson Halls to address deferred maintenance while maintaining overall bed count, to create student-centered common spaces, to improve campus and city connections to the residential quad in order to maximize accessibility to and within the residential quad, to address sustainability, and to provide updated space for existing administrative offices.

NADAAA’s work over the academic year included numerous meetings with campus constituents, a student survey, monthly meetings with the campus project team, presentations to the Board of Trustees in October, February and June, development of multiple options that were reduced through the project team, Campus Master Plan Committee and Board meetings to a final scheme that was presented to the Board in June of 2017.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer a new residence hall that so fully supports the education we offer our students,” said Jack Silva, vice president of RISD Campus Services. “Planning the residence hall has been a true collaborative effort and we are pleased to be working again with alumnus Nader Tehrani and to have Shawmut as a partner in leading the project.”

The post RISD Breaks Ground on Long-Awaited Residence Hall appeared first on School Construction News.

DALLAS — Merriman Anderson/Architects (MAA) recently announced that the historic Dallas High School has achieved LEED Gold certification.

The 102,000-square-foot, four-story building was built in 1907 and sat empty for nearly two decades before being purchased by Matthews Southwest and redeveloped into 78,000 square feet of historically converted office space, along with 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and outdoor patio space.

MAA is the design architect, historic architect and architect of record for the building shell and interior restoration, including the LEED certification process.

In order to receive LEED gold certification, MAA implemented many sustainable site and material strategies, as well as envelope improvements to optimize energy efficiency.

“To increase the energy performance of the building, the envelope was improved per historic preservation standards, which was the biggest challenge,” said Aimee Sanborn, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Principal and Team Leader at Merriman Anderson/Architects. “However, with the envelope and lighting improvements, combined energy savings improved by more than 21.9 percent.”

A few sustainable site strategies included the abatement of contaminants in the existing building, such as the installation of native vegetation with drip irrigation and priority parking for fuel-efficient vehicles as well as on-site electric charging stations.

Highly reflective thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roofing membrane, an efficient HVAC system, and LED lighting were all established within the building to improve energy efficiency. With the installation of low flow fixtures, the potable water use within the building was reduced by more than 49.31 percent.

More than 99.64 percent of the existing core and shell were reused, and products were installed that possessed recycled content reducing the amount of construction waste. To improve the environmental health throughout the building, MAA installed low-emitting materials.

Dallas High School recently won a 2018 Preservation Dallas Achievement Award, which honors Dallas’ outstanding residential and commercial historic preservation projects and the individuals who are committed to making Dallas a better place to live by protecting its architectural heritage.

The post Dallas High School Earns LEED Gold appeared first on School Construction News.

Falls Church City Schools’ Superintendent Peter Noonan noted in a statement, “The design put forth by the Gilbane team is nothing short of brilliant. It is everything the community has asked for and more. I’m very excited as we now move into the home stretch with engagement between the architects and the community beginning in earnest.”

The selection of the design-build team comes after the Falls Church community approved a referendum to build the new high school in November 2017, after 10 years of document reviews, community meetings and feasibility research. The construction of the new building will be the last step in the process. The team’s design was selected because it addressed the community’s top priorities but also emphasized sustainable elements, flexible and collaborative learning spaces, community accessibility, robust safety and security measures, and compatibility with the upcoming adjacent 10-acre private development site planned as a vibrant mixed-use community.

The proposed exterior design of the new George Mason High School blends modern materials with traditional brick for a contemporary aesthetic constructed to stand the test of time. Interiors are also designed with an eye toward tomorrow with flexible floorplans that provide security, efficiency, and adaptability to support programs and educational needs as they evolve. Students and teachers are offered a mix of spaces — informed by the priorities of flexibility, visual transparency and natural daylighting — to forge an academic setting that encourages creative thought, community building and individual growth.

Gilbane, Stantec, and QEA each bring local K-12 expertise with award-winning portfolios of urban school projects in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Notable projects include Dunbar Senior High School, The New School at the Wilson Site, Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center, McKinley Middle School and Academies of Loudoun.

“We are excited to collaborate with the Falls Church community and our design-build partners to deliver a modern learning environment that’s flexible as education needs shift in the future,” said Jennifer Macks, Senior Project Executive at Gilbane Building Company.

The post Virginia School Board Chooses Design Team for $108M Project appeared first on School Construction News.

The post Kelli Sargent appeared first on School Construction News.