Empire State Building Archives - School Construction News

Site Work Begins on New Sandy Hook School

NEWTON, Conn. — Site work officially began on Oct. 21 for construction on the new Sandy Hook Elementary School. The $50 million, state-funded project will replace the building in Newton where 20 children and six staff members were killed in a tragic shooting almost two years ago on Dec. 14.
Milford, Mass.-headquartered Consigli Construction Co. will serve as the construction manager on the project, while New Haven, Conn.-based Svigal + Partners is serving as the architect. An official groundbreaking was not scheduled mainly to protect the privacy of the Sandy Hook community, reported CBS New York.
The community decided to demolish the old 70,000-square-foot elementary school and replace it with the 87,000-square-foot structure, which will accommodate more than 500 pre-kindergarten through fourth graders. The construction company has already barricaded the property and intends to screen the perimeter to dissuade onlookers from taking photographs. Full-time security guards will also help keep the side undisturbed.
The school will feature three classroom wings, two of which are two stories that overlook central courtyards. Breakout spaces in the form of “treehouses” will create alternative learning environments on the second floor. The curved entrance is also designed to leave the impression of a community embrace, with the entire building constructed to make connections with the natural landscape surrounding it. The main floor of the building is designed as a wide thoroughfare that connects the three separate wings of the school. The project will also include a new soccer and ball field.
“We are very aware of how much this new school means to the people of Newtown. We hope that as it takes shape, it will contribute to the continued renewal of the Sandy Hook community. This project is about much more than a new building,” said Anthony Consigli, president of Consigli Construction Co., in a statement.
Construction will officially begin in March. The first parts of the project will be the installation of construction fences, building retaining walls and removing trees along the property line. The project is scheduled for completion by June 2016. The school’s 430 students are currently attending class at the former Chalk Hill Middle School in neighboring Monroe, Conn.
Earlier this month, the last of the 26 playgrounds dedicated to the students and staff members that died in the Sandy Hook shooting was completed. The final playground built as part of the Where Angels Play Foundation was named for Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, the school principal who bravely confronted a wall of bullets to protect her students and staff. The playground was built in Watertown, the community where her four grandchildren live.

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Newton Voters Approve $49 Million Sandy Hook Project

NEWTOWN, Conn. — After a devastating year of events, the residents of Newtown, Conn., have something to celebrate. On Oct. 5, voters accepted a $49.25 million state appropriation that will be used towards the demolition and rebuild of Sandy Hook Elementary School where 26 people were killed in December of last year.

The landslide vote to accept the state money was 4,504 yes to 558 no, and it was the town’s highest voter turnout since the 2008 presidential election, according to NewsTimes.

“As we look to bring home our Sandy Hook School community, it is critical to have a school building that will allow them to stay together,” the Newtown Board of Education said in a letter to The Newtown Bee. “Accepting this funding will allow the town of Newtown to once again be made whole.”

The new school will be built on the same site of the existing building, which has been closed since the school shooting on Dec. 14. Sandy Hook students have been attending nearby Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe, Conn., for the interim. The state funding will also be used to purchase two parcels of adjacent land for a new entrance to the school.

By law, the town had to vote on accepting the $49.25 million state appropriation. Voters previously approved the first $750,000 state allocation for predesign work at a town meeting in July. The referendum to accept the $49.25 million was set in August when the Legislative Council also voted unanimously to include the construction project in the town’s five-year capital plan.

The school should be demolished in the next few months with construction beginning in the spring. It is expected to cost between $42 million and $47 million, and is scheduled for completion in 2016. Milford, Mass.-headquartered Consigli Construction is the construction firm working on the project. The project will not require any local tax dollars.

“The people of Newtown decided that building a new Sandy Hook Elementary School is an important step onward for their children and their community,” Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said in a statement. “This funding is another way the state is continuing the unwavering support our citizens and our government have shown for them since that dark day that still affects us all.”

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The Benefits of Security Glazing

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Tragedies such as Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, have parents and administrators across the country clamoring for solutions to make schools more secure. Doors and windows – more specifically, the glass — are under significant scrutiny.

For extra security, laminated glass is an easy, cost-effective measure in protecting against forced entry and bullet resistance. Compared with traditional annealed or tempered glass, laminated glass can secure the building more effectively.

Laminated glass is made from a tough plastic interlayer bonded between two pieces of glass. Invisible to the naked eye, this interlayer gives laminated glass the same clear visual benefits as ordinary glass, an important security feature. From inside, occupants can see someone approaching the school. From outside, responders can locate the intruder or victims. Because it is impact resistant, laminated glass is a no nonsense approach for enhancing the protection of school windows and doors.

Renewed Need for Extra Security
Administrators and teachers agree that everyone should feel safe at school. Parents feel better dropping off their kids knowing a school has taken measures to assess and upgrade security.

More than just a facility, school is where families send their kids to learn, participate in sports and clubs, perform in musicals and plays, and much more. A school is why a family buys a home in a specific neighborhood, and it is what ties a community together. Schools frequently are used as emergency management centers or shelters in times of crisis, making security an important attribute to the building, even after teaching hours.

In recent years, schools are not the safe havens they once were. Since 1992, there have been 387 shootings in U.S. schools (www.stoptheshootings.org). The most recent involving fatalities occurred December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary. Twenty children and six adults died at the school. The gunman killed himself and had shot his mother earlier that morning. That’s 28 deaths tied to one event. No one can predict whether an attack will ever happen, but it is important that schools are prepared for anything.

Schools React to Potential Threats
Following the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, parents, teachers, concerned citizens, school administrators, and legislators joined in discussions across the country about how this tragedy and future shootings could be prevented. There were conversations about gun control, awareness and care for the mentally unstable, as well as improving school safety through better communication systems, security measures, intruder drill training, and more. School districts everywhere are looking at how they can keep students, teachers, and faculty safe.

What the School Construction Industry Can Do
Windows and doors are the easiest point of entry into a school, but they don’t have to be. Installing laminated security glass for all windows and doors makes forced entry much more difficult. Laminated glass is fabricated with a tough, protective interlayer, typically of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), which is bonded with heat and pressure between two pieces of glass. Using thicker interlayers increases impact resistance. Upon impact, laminated glass will shatter but glass shards remain held together by the bonded interlayer. Risks associated with flying or falling glass are minimized.

Laminated security glass stands up to multiple assaults from a blunt or sharp object used to gain entry. If an intruder tries to break through a window or door side lite, it would take several blows before achieving access through security glass. This allows valuable time for anyone inside the school to call the police, lockdown interior doors or classrooms, or move students to a safer area.

From a glazing standpoint, school architects and administrators may consider the following when designing new or retrofit glazing systems:
• Glass should provide inherent health, safety, and security benefits that can help mitigate disasters.
• Natural daylight is essential for psychological benefits of students and teachers.
• Glass should provide visibility for critical passageways and entry areas.
• Sustained functionality – basic functions of the school can operate following a natural or manmade disaster.

When specifying laminated glass, threat levels should be considered:
• Entry doors have been the most vulnerable in many school shootings. Hurricane rated high-impact (large missile) glass, or even ballistic glass should be considered. As in the case of Sandy Hook, the shooter penetrated the side lite of the door and then reached through to open it. This “break and reach” ability of the intruder must be delayed or stopped. High performance glass provides resistance, while still providing much needed visibility.
• Existing doors may need to be replaced completely if bullet resistant glazing is specified, as the framing system for such heavy configurations is specialized.
• Access doors with a double entry lobby to the school should be equipped with laminated security glazing that overlays the Maghull Double Glazing windows allowing them to have the ability to restrain forced entry/burglary resistance capability in accordance with UL 972 or ASTM F 1233 — Class 1.
• At a minimum, first floor glass should be equipped with basic laminated glass (typically requires a 0.030 inch thick interlayer). This will deter ingress, retain glass, and slow “break and reach.” Forced ingress glazing, which uses a thicker interlayer, will offer greater protection. Laminated glass can be retrofitted into most existing window and door systems and can contribute to compliance for security windows per ASTM E2395 – Security Performance of Window and Door Assemblies with and without Glazing Impact.
• If budgets do not permit replacement of windows, security film can be post applied over existing windows and doors. This option offers some of the benefits of laminated glass but provides less resistance against an intruder, and, like other laminated glass options that are not bullet resistant, will not stop a bullet. Security film also modifies the post breakage behavior of glass, but may allow time to take additional action versus non-enhanced glazing.

When guns are the choice of weaponry, it requires several shots from a 9mm, .357 or .45 caliber handgun to make a hole large enough to put a fist through to unlock a door or window. In some cases, the intruder may be temporarily confused, as the glass isn’t “behaving” as expected. There are many documented “smash and grab” attempts at burglary, where would-be intruders give up because they are generating too much noise and attention.

Success Stories
Laminated glass has been around and in use in various forms for generations. Invented in 1903 by French chemist Edouard Benedictus, laminated glass has been used for decades in automobile windshields to greatly reduce injuries. It is commonly used in high-risk buildings such as embassies and federal buildings, as well as museums. Laminated glass protects great treasures such as the Mona Lisa, the U.S. Constitution, and London’s Crown Jewels.

After the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, laminated glass became the standard in Florida and other coastal regions. Building code requirements were established to lessen the amount of destruction caused from high winds and to ensure occupant safety.

In the aftermath of events like the Oklahoma City bombing (1995) and the September 11 (2001) terrorist attacks, enhancements to laminated glass configurations ensure that glazing in Federal and other public buildings are blast resistant. Dozens of lives were saved by blast resistant laminated glass when the Pentagon, newly remodeled, was attacked on September 11. The shock waves following an explosion can send glass shards flying for miles and generally cause about 70 percent of the injuries following an explosion.

Additional Benefits of Laminated Glass
Along with safety and security enhancing features, laminated glass offers schools other benefits. Laminated glass dampens sound coming in from the outside, making it an ideal choice for schools located in noisy neighborhoods or urban environments. Numerous studies have shown that children concentrate and can learn better in a quiet space.

Laminated glass reduces solar heat gain and UV rays going into a building, making it more comfortable and healthful for students. Finally, as coastal residents know, hurricane-rated laminated glass protects against natural disasters. Laminated glass is versatile, readily available, affordable, easy to install, and it can be used toward LEED certification in energy, recycling, indoor environment quality, and acoustics.

Keeping Kids Safe and Secure
According to survey data collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics in 1994-1996, the average age of public schools throughout the U.S. is 42. While there is a need for building better schools, there can be funding and time constraints. When new buildings cannot be erected, the architectural community must look at available options to modernize, update, and safeguard existing schools. Laminated glass remains one of the easiest, most cost-effective measures available for enhancing student and faculty safety.

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Sandy Hook School to be Demolished

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The Sandy Hook Task Force unanimously voted to tear down the current school building and rebuild at the same site where 26 children and staff were shot and killed last December.
In the fifth and final meeting of the 28-member committee of elected officials, the task force made the recommendation to the Newtown Board of Education to demolish Sandy Hook Elementary School, which has been closed since the tragedies of Dec. 14, 2012, and construct a new school building that could cost $57 million. However, a town vote will ultimately decide how to proceed with the building and where Sandy Hook students will continue their education.
“It looks like we’re just talking about sites and building, but really what we’re talking about is working through the trauma the community has faced,” said Rich Harwood, mediator of the discussion.
Emotions ran high in the May 10 meeting. Teachers and parents of Sandy Hook acknowledged that, though the heartbreak would never fully recede, the community was responsible for moving forward and banding together to bring new hope to Sandy Hook students.
The team of community leaders evaluated about 40 options, including potential plans to renovate the existing building and build at a new site, but the task force opted to start anew without forgetting the positive aspects of Sandy Hook’s history.
“For many, many years, this place was used as a place for learning, happiness and growth, and I would hate for that land to become any different than what its intended use was for originally,” said Debbie Leidlein, Newtown Board of Education chair and member of the Sandy Hook task force. “I’d like to see it return to that function in our community.”
The task force acknowledged that whatever decision they made, someone would be unhappy. Peter Barresi, father of a first grader at Sandy Hook, had hoped the committee would maintain the Sandy Hook building.
“We didn’t just lose 20 children and six adults,” he said. “We’re letting him [the gunman] take the building, too.”
The school’s 430 students are currently attending class at the former Chalk Hill Middle School in neighboring Monroe, Conn. Renamed Sandy Hook Elementary School, the once-vacant building has been used as the interim school since the shooting.
Though aggravated that the original building may be demolished, Barresi also said continuing to hold instruction at Chalk Hill is not an adequate option for elementary education.
“I can’t help but think the most important people in this entire decision is our children and that they are sitting in a school that’s not designed for them,” he said. “That has to be inhibiting their learning.”
On the day of the shooting, Newtown resident and former psychologist Gene Rosen found six young children who had witnessed the violence on his lawn. But rather than retell the brutality of that December morning, Rosen spoke of another Sandy Hook memory.
Earlier in 2012, Rosen had walked to the school with his grandson. He snapped a picture of a bluebird perched on a Sandy Hook tree. Now, he said, every time he is thanked for his compassion, he gives that person a picture of the bluebird. To Rosen, the rebuilding of Sandy Hook is a symbol of reviving hope once lost.
“I want to reciprocate and so I give this bluebird that represents hope and resilience and strength. The return of the bluebirds,” he said. “I bring that up because I think this has been a mostly positive, wonderful gathering of people and gathering of spirit.”
Connecticut Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal as well as Representative Elizabeth Etsy have called on Congress to use federal funds to help build the new elementary school. With the opportunity to supply a new school to the community of Newtown, Murphy and Blumenthal said, senators now have a chance to redeem themselves after failing to pass a bill that would expand background checks to gun purchasers.
The bill is an opportunity for lawmakers to “put their money where their mouth is,” Blumenthal said in a statement, adding that legislators of both political parties have asked what they can do to help the situation in Newtown.
“For those of my colleagues who asked me this but failed to vote for common sense gun violence prevention measures in March, this bill gives them the opportunity to make a down payment – not a full payment – but a down payment on their obligation to respond adequately to the Sandy Hook horror,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “Students at Sandy Hook Elementary School should not be forced to relive this tragedy in a schoolhouse marred with slaughter.”
The legislation proposed would allow schools to apply for funding through the expansion of the School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) grant for construction on sites that have witnessed mass tragedies. SERV grants are issued to communities after traumatic violent events and funds are often used for mental health counseling.
“This tragedy has touched people on a national scale, and as a nation, we have an obligation to make sure that this community and that the children who attend Sandy Hook Elementary have the support they need to heal and continue their lives,” Blumenthal said in a statement.
For the community of Newtown, the remembrance of love at the Sandy Hook site will ultimately prevail over its tragedies.
“I think our message should be at that site that love will win over fear,” said Steve Uhde, father to a Sandy Hook second grader. “We can make that site love again.”

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