CROSBY, Tex.—The Lone Star State’s Crosby Independent School District (CISD) has tapped Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) to serve as the program manager to oversee $90 million of improvements throughout its locality.

LAN will be in charge of effectively implementing funds from that 2017 bond, which was approved by voters as a way to help the district expand for the future. Among the projects that fall under this umbrella are increasing the amount of educational space on offer at Crosby High School. While Crosby currently hosts 2,500 students, the school is projected to require 30 percent more capacity by 2025.

The district’s overall project aims to maintain the same small class sizes, which naturally requires more classrooms—but without sacrificing academic excellence throughout CISD. Currently the district serves 6,000 K-12 students.

“The District’s improvements and expansion will benefit students and the community. Being involved in this project is a privilege for LAN, and we welcome the opportunity to improve the learning experience for Crosby students,” said JP Grom, LAN’s vice president and director of the firm’s program management team.

LAN, which employs 350 professionals, has been ranked by Engineering News-Record as among the Top 100 A/E Firms. LAN falls under the corporate umbrella of the LEO A DALY family of companies.

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COLLEGE PARK, Md.—Construction is not underway on the new School of Public Policy building at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Executive architect Leo A Daly was selected for this approximately $45 million project in 2016 after a competitive, multi-phased Design Excellence procurement process. This a Construction Management at Risk (CM&R) project with bids slated to go out next year.

“The new School of Public Policy is a highly-visible symbol of the University of Maryland’s dedication to serving the public good, not only in developing the policymakers of tomorrow, but in expanding the policy conversation to the greater university and the world beyond it,” said Irena Savakova, RIBA, principal in charge for the project with Leo A Daly. “This new building will have a transformative effect on the university, establishing a unique platform for collaboration and public discourse woven thoughtfully into the fabric of campus,”

Slated for completion in 2022, the four-story building will bring together the school’s 90-plus faculty members and more than 1,000 undergraduates and graduate students under one roof for the first time. It will also be the headquarters for the Do Good Institute, a campus-wide hub for social innovation, philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. Five state-of-the-art instructional spaces ranging in size from 25 to 150 seats, a library and a rooftop terrace are also included.

“The School of Public Policy is a home for those committed to serving the public good, and who go out and do good in the world every day,” said Robert C. Orr, dean of the School of Public Policy, in a statement.

According to the university’s 2019 enrollment report, 219 undergrads and 248 master’s students are currently enrolled in the school. During the last school year, 16 undergrads and 112 master’s students received a degree. The School of Public Policy has experienced steady growth since starting in 2017 while being housed at the Van Munching Hall, the home of the university’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Entrances on the east and west connect within a large, communal atrium have been designed to encourage chance meetings, informal study and interdepartmental collaboration. Academic space is tied together visually and programmatically, creating a series of adaptable, flexible learning environments. Do Good Plaza, a shared outdoor event space on the building’s east side, embraces the neighboring Purple Line station, establishing a welcoming new gateway into campus.

“This new building will accommodate the school’s rapid growth in students headed for public policy leadership in the national, international, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors,” said University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh, in a statement. “Along with its unique curriculum, research leadership, and proximity to the nation’s capital, this building will help propel the school to become one of the very best in the country.”

The architecture blends contemporary expressions of transparency and openness with materials and rhythmic elements found in the adjacent Georgian-inspired campus buildings. The building’s carefully sculpted massing frames views of two historic buildings—Rossborough Inn to the northeast and Memorial Chapel to the southwest.

The sustainably designed building is expected to achieve a LEED Gold rating, with biophilic design elements that will connect occupants to nature, reduce the building’s environmental footprint, and provide healthy and productive spaces for work and study.

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ARLINGTON, Va.—The Heights, a new secondary school building in Arlington, is now complete. The 181,000-square-foot facility co-locates two Arlington Public School (APS) programs—a democratic alternative magnet program, and a program for students with severe intellectual disabilities.

Leo A Daly served as executive architect for the approximately $100-million project, working closely with design architect BIG—Bjarke Ingels Group. Gilbane Building Company provided construction manager at-risk services.

“The Heights creates a new architectural icon in Northern Virginia and one of the most innovative educational facilities ever built,” explained Tim Duffy, vice president and director of technical services with Leo A Daly.

“Learning and community are infused into every detail—from its twisting geometry to the bespoke learning environments that support students in their educational journey.”

The team successfully maximized density and open space on the constrained site. Five levels of classrooms are rotated around a central pivot point, creating rooftop terraces on each level that serve as outdoor educational environments. A cascading central stair stitches the five levels together, creating a sense of connectivity and community that is rare in midrise school buildings.

A lobby and gathering space, theater and gymnasium are located on the ground floor, occupying spaces of varying heights created by the rotation of the classroom bars. Public areas are accessible from the main street along Wilson Boulevard.

The large open lobby offers tiered seating for students to gather. Classrooms use flexible layouts that can be rearranged for different learning formats. State-of-the-art smart panel screens allow students to share content from their own school-issued devices for more interactive learning. Specialized spaces include a library, art studio, a kiln, science and robotics labs, music rehearsal rooms and two performing arts theaters.

Additionally, four rooftop terraces are accessible directly from classrooms on levels two through five. Each terrace provides a different scale of activity, from large gatherings to class discussions and quiet study areas. The four terraces are designed to reflect the major ecosystems of the Mid-Atlantic physiographic regions and are landscaped with native plants and tree species through an intensive green roof system.

Leo A Daly and BIG worked closely with structural engineering firm Robert Silman Associates to execute the building’s many gravity-defying cantilevers. A system of trusses transfers building loads at each level, while avoiding the need to have columns in classrooms or other large program areas, such as the gym and theater. A careful erection sequence was carried out in phases to build the complicated structure.

The project was designed in response to the rapid densification currently underway in the Rosslyn business district. As part of the West Rosslyn Area Plan (WRAP), the Heights contributes to an urban mixed-use corridor defined by civic-minded public spaces and a blend of retail, office and residential uses.

The Heights supports the learning needs of two unique APS programs housed there: H-B Woodlawn and the Stratford Program.

Based on the liberal education movements on the 1960s and 1970s, H-B Woodlawn empowers students from grades 6 through 12 to direct their own courses of study and engage directly in administrative matters. The space was designed more like a university campus than a typical high school.

The Eunice Shriver Kennedy Program—which serves special-needs students aged 11 to 22— occupies two levels within a dedicated wing of the building. Many Shriver Program students use wheelchairs and have sensory and motor disabilities that require the help of a personal companion during the day. The curriculum is individualized to each student and focuses on vocational and community skills such as daily living, communication, leisure, recreation and other skills that help with independence.

The density of the building’s program also required a careful approach to acoustical design. Spaces with the greatest potential for noise bleed—such as gyms and theaters—are located on the ground floor. Other spaces, such as music rehearsal rooms, have isolated floor slabs and suspended ceilings to buffer them from surrounding classrooms. The large auditorium uses conditioned air supplied through an underfloor plenum, achieving isolation from the adjacent mechanical room.

This high-performance, sustainable building is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification.

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