Working with a small site forced the design team to be particularly creative in developing and maximizing a functional program. “It’s a very dynamic design, in which many functions are incorporated,” said Urbahn Architect’s principal Marty Stein, AIA, in a statement. Stein originally spearheaded the design of the original BelovED K-5 school and its recent addition, and is now leading the design of the middle school.

Upon completion, the new middle school will offer 15 general classrooms, four half-classrooms, two science rooms, two art rooms and a music room. A cafetorium — a combination cafeteria and auditorium space — with a warming kitchen, a gymnasium with a mezzanine, a media center/library, administrative offices, and a large sub-dividable multipurpose room to be used for events and testing will also be included. In addition, the school will include a 31-space parking lot and outdoor assembly and recreation space.

The site is located within a FEMA-designated flood zone, which added another level of complexity to the project. As such, Urbahn Architects Associate and Project Manager Emmanuel Perez, AIA, LEED AP, said in a statement that the design team is specifying all programmed space and critical systems on the second through fourth floors. “The ground level is dedicated to parking, building access and recreation. The upper floors are structurally cantilevered above the parking lot,” he added.

Due to the low-bearing soil at the site, the foundation system will consist of subterranean concrete piles and pile caps, which will support the new school’s structural steel frame, according to a statement by Urbahn Architects.

Friends of the BelovED Charter School, a non-profit organization established to support the development of BeloveED Community Charter School and other charter schools, is the project’s developer. The organization is expected to obtain a mortgage and construction financing of $12 million from New Jersey Community Capital, according to Bret Schundler, a former mayor of Jersey City and former commissioner of education for the State of New Jersey.

Schundler assisted the local community in establishing the original BelovED Community Charter School, which opened in 2012 across the street from the new middle school site. He currently serves as chairman of the BelovED Community Charter School Foundation. BelovED, which currently serves 720 students, is named in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of the “Beloved Community.”
 

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Farmingdale State College is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, and construction on its new business school broke ground in the fall of 2012. Stalco Construction Inc. served as the general contractor; Urbahn Architects served as the architect; and Jacobs Engineering Group served as the construction manager on the new educational facility project. All three companies have offices in New York.

“Part of a $185 million multisite construction project, this is the most technologically advanced building on campus,” said Farmingdale State College President Dr. W. Hubert Keen.

The new School of Business, which is aiming for LEED Silver certification, features a modern façade, expansive glass curtain wall and a high number of environmentally responsible design and engineering solutions, according to Stalco Construction Principal Kevin Harney. The school’s energy efficiency performance exceeds New York State’s requirements by 30 percent.

The building is designed as a three-story, rectangular ‘bar’ with program spaces on either side of an efficient, double-loaded corridor, explained Peter Verne, AIA, LEED AP, senior associate for Urbahn Architects and the project’s lead designer. Faculty offices and lounges primarily make up the west side of the corridor, while classroom spaces are located to the east.

“We designed the lobby to serve both as an event reception space as well as a place for students to relax between classes,” Verne said. “It features faceted bamboo seating and a stainless-steel cantilevered stair projecting into the glazed triple-height atrium.”

The design team developed multiple types of lounges, from contemplative spaces located off the main path of travel to active spaces adjacent to the main corridor — wired so students can plug in devices for group display, he added. The freestanding elevator shaft directs the eye upward within the atrium lobby and acts as a signpost announcing the main entrance. Plus, the classrooms feature face-to-face tiered seating to foster professor-led discussion and debate among students.

Many of the project’s challenges were related to the building’s infrastructure and MEP systems as well as construction logistics, according to Stalco Senior Project Manager Kevin Sypher. The building has its own cooling tower, situated adjacent to the main structure, which makes its own chilled water for cooling, and the crews had to build new steam piping and connections to the campus steam plant. The interiors also feature many unusual and innovative materials such as sustainable bamboo cladding, an exposed steel architectural staircase, electric shades and a smoke purge system with windows and doors that automatically open when the smoke purge fans activate.

“The Stalco team employed several technological and material solutions that allowed the crews to accelerate the construction schedule,” said Stalco Assistant Project Manager Kimberly Klein Chappina. “For example, Stalco utilized the National Gypsum mold and moisture gypsum wall panels and compound rather than regular gypsum boards. This allowed the interior work to continue through winter months inside a structure that was still open to the elements, while the complex glass and rain screen building enclosure was still being installed.”

In the early pre-design phase, Urbahn performed an extensive analysis of the business school’s and the entire college’s spatial needs, patterns and frequency of space use, enrollment forecasts, overall campus master plan, traffic patterns and architectural history. The architects collaborated extensively with the college’s leadership, physical plant management, Dean of the School of Business and faculty in order to define the school’s philosophy and technological needs.

This analysis, as well as the available budget, guided the architects during the development of the new school’s architecture, interior programming, design approach and engineering. It also helped in the selection of the location for the new structure. Following a site selection analysis of several alternative locations for the new School of Business by reviewing their impact on the pedestrian traffic flow, vehicular access, utilities availability and distance, and compatibility with the overall campus development plan, the architects and college leadership selected a site previously occupied by a dorm that had been demolished several years ago. This solution not only restored the completeness of the overall quad plan, but also provided LEED credits in the sustainable site category.

“Late twentieth-century development had shifted activity away from the original campus core,” Verne said. “The siting of the new building and the views from within are designed to reinforce and reenergize the historic campus center.”

During the design phase, the architects also strived to reflect the historic architecture of the campus in the new school. The building’s façade features a modern interpretation of the traditional elements, materials and colors. The exterior materials of brick, glass-fiber-reinforced concrete panels (GFRC), composite metal panels and glass relate in texture and color to the brick, cast stone and slate traditionally employed on the core campus buildings. The use of this familiar palette also helps define sections enclosing individual program areas.

The Dean of the School of Business helped the design team throughout the process, challenging the team to create a building that would foster learning both inside and outside the classroom, according to Verne. “More than simply providing a new building, this project afforded an opportunity to return clarity and definition to the surrounding outdoor quad spaces,” he said.

In addition to Stalco Construction Inc., Jacobs Engineering Group and Urbahn Architects, the project team consisted of structural engineer Consulting Engineers Collaborative, based in Kenilworth, N.J.; civil engineer BET Engineering Consultants, based in Hanover, N.J.; mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineer Vanderweil Engineers, headquartered in Boston; lighting designer Domingo Gonzalez Associates, based in New York; and landscape architect Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects, also based in New York.

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The innovative BelovED Community Charter School takes its name from a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” This philosophy resonated with Hollister Chief Executive Officer Christopher A. Johnson, who sees great value in charter school construction and expansion. “Hollister is a strong supporter of the charter school movement, so it is especially gratifying to be involved in a significant project that addresses the needs of underserved children,” Johnson said. “Our extensive experience as construction managers for educational projects allowed us to value engineer components and construction methods used in the new addition, ultimately providing enough savings to allow the school to refine their design and add an additional full floor.”

The school is located in a 12-year-old building that formerly housed Schomburg Charter School, and is also in an area that was directly affected by 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. As a result, Hollister President Kieran Flannigan said the company altered pre-existing plans to better prepare the structure for future severe weather.

The first floor of the new addition was elevated, creating a roughly 5-foot crawlspace below enclosed with perforated metal panels. According to Sander, these unique panels are designed to break away under a substantial amount of water pressure. They also allow water to recede from the building, reducing potential damage, while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the design.

This weather-ready addition will also help the school transition from a K-3 to a K-12 institution. The school plans to incorporate one new grade level per year, and will eventually comprise an elementary, middle and high school on or nearby the school’s existing campus. The expansion will allow students to remain within the BelovED educational system from kindergarten through matriculation, and administrators are also actively working to open a Greenville campus in the near future.

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The 42,000-square-foot facility is slated for completion in 2014 and is part of a $185 million campus-wide capital campaign to expand and modernize the school. Islandia, N.Y.-based Stalco Construction is working as the general contractor on the new School of Business along with New York-based architecture firm, Urbahn Architects.

“The new, three-story, $26.7 million School of Business will be one of the most architecturally prominent higher education structures in the Northeast, said Joseph Serpe, vice president at Stalco Construction. “The building, which aims at LEED Silver certification, will feature a striking, modern, charcoal and ivory-colored façade, expansive glass curtainwall and a high number of environmentally responsible design and engineering solutions. The school’s energy efficiency performance will exceed New York’s state requirements by 30 percent.”

The need for the facility is due to the college’s increasing enrollment — which in 2012 exceeded 8,000 students. The school will help to prepare students for careers in the business industry by providing the latest technologies and services.

The building features a 1,050-square-foot computer lab that students will be able to work on assignments and projects as well as conduct research. While students have the option of working solo in the lab, the interior classroom space gives them the opportunity to work collaboratively.

The classrooms and lounges were designed with collaborative learning in mind. The first floor of the building features the largest classrooms in the building, and in order to promote active discussion and learning, each of these classrooms is tiered on each side around a centrally located teaching stage area. One of the 64-seat classrooms will feature a central folding partition, allowing division into two smaller, traditionally laid out classrooms.

The flexibility of the classrooms gives students and teachers endless learning possibilities, strategies and approaches.

“From the beginning of the project, it was the goal of Farmingdale State College for the building to promote a casual interaction between students and faculty,” said Peter Verne, senior associate at Urbahn Architects and project’s lead designer. “We reflected this concept in our design approach by locating the faculty offices immediately across the main corridors from the classrooms.”

The interior of the building also features mini-lounges for students, which further promotes interactivity. In addition to the public spaces, there are also two main lounges for students who prefer to work in a quiet working environment.

Green Elements

The building has many environmentally friendly features, including the mechanical, electrical and plumbing services.

“The building will incorporate high efficiency heating, cooling and lighting systems that will significantly reduce energy use,” said Gregory Sibley, associate principal for Vanderweill Engineers. “The entire building will be managed by the Direct Digital Control (DDC)-controlled Building Energy Management System, which will optimize the energy use based on occupancy, air quality, natural lighting levels and other variable factors. The college’s facility management team will be able to control the building’s systems remotely, from the campuses’ central control room.”

The cooling system at the facility will include two high efficiency, water cooled, 135-ton chillers in the basement as well as cooling towers, tied to the basement chillers, on the grade level outside of the main building. The chilled water will be distributed through piping networks to custom manufactured air handling units with multiple fans for an increased redundancy and reliability. The units will also feature internal service corridors for easier maintenance.

“In order to develop the optimal structure, the architectural and engineering team performed multiple modeling tests for the entire building’s design, including walls, ceilings, roofs and MEP systems,” said Sibley. “This analysis has led to the development of an extremely efficient structure that will serve as an example for future higher education facilities across the nation.”

The greening of the new building will also serve as an example for other campus projects — along with incorporating collaborative learning spaces within other new facilities.

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