Integrus Architecture Archives - School Construction News https://schoolconstructionnews.com Design - Construction - Operations Wed, 09 Jan 2019 18:58:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.11 MCA Winter Awards Ceremony Recognizes Schools for Excellence in Design https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2018/02/19/mca-winter-awards-ceremony-recognizes-schools-excellence-design/ Mon, 19 Feb 2018 14:00:57 +0000 http://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=44331 The MCA Chairman’s Awards include a criteria of overall appearance, significance of metal in the project, innovative use of metal and the role of metal in achieving project objectives.

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By Rachel Leber

CHICAGO —  The Metal Construction Association (MCA) in Chicago recognized eight building projects from across the country for their excellence during the MCA’s Winter Meeting held in San Diego, Jan. 22-24. Included in the eight categories were four school-related awards and recognitions for excellence in design.

Judged by a panel of architects, the MCA Chairman’s Awards include a criteria of overall appearance, significance of metal in the project, innovative use of metal and the role of metal in achieving project objectives. The eight categories included: overall excellence; residential; metal roofing; education — primary and secondary schools; education — colleges and universities; institutional; municipal; and commercial/industrial.

In the category of “Primary and Secondary Schools,” the Medicine Crow Middle School in Billings, Mont., won the category for the 121,000-square-foot building. Photo Credit: Lara Swimmer

The Iowa City-based University of Iowa’s Visual Arts Building took the prize in the category of “Overall Excellence” — the highest honor given, according to MCA. The Visual Arts Building — designed by architect Steven Holl — has an industrial aesthetic with 38,000 square feet of RHEINZINK-cladding and poured-in-place concrete walls.

The main entrances on the southwestern and southeastern sides of the building are covered in 1.5-millimeter perforated stainless-steel panels. The panels create a rainscreen system as well as  bring natural light into the building through a series of scooped setbacks with 13,000 holes in a specific pattern in each of the stainless steel perforated panels. Curved RHEINZINK panels were also used on the building’s vegetative roof to clad large skylights.

In the category of “Primary and Secondary Schools,” the Medicine Crow Middle School in Billings, Mont., won the category for the 121,000-square-foot building, newly constructed for grades six, seven and eight, designed by Seattle-based Integrus Architecture and Billings-based A&E Architects.

The exterior of the school incorporates copper penny and dark bronze metal panels, which mimic the striation patterns in the sandstone that surrounds the school. In addition to creating a unique aesthetic, the metal wall panels are durable, and also meet sustainability and energy goals for the exterior envelope of the building. In addition, the linear metal panels serve to organize the school into classrooms as well as to define the procession to the entry of the building.

In the category of “Colleges and Universities,” the Whitcomb Art Center at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., took the prize. The environmentally friendly, energy-efficient building was designed with the goal of future LEED certification. A sawtooth metal roof includes skylights that fill the second-floor studio spaces with evenly dispersed natural lighting throughout the year.

The roof systems use conventional construction with metal panels along with other wall areas using reclaimed material. Skylights and large framed openings for glass allow light with shading techniques for energy savings. Using a metal building allowed the design team to create a transition from the east end of the campus to the industrial district in Galesburg, with exposed metal being important to the overall effect, according to Texas-based Lake-Flato Architects Inc., the building’s architect.

Finally, the Mooseheart School in Mooseheart, Ill. — designed by Hestrup and Associates Architects of St. Charles, Ill. — won in the category of “Metal Roofing.” The architect used metal throughout the design to “create unity” among the buildings, with neutral colors chosen for the metal panels that blend with the brick and stone on the structure. In addition to the design aesthetic, metal was chosen for its durability and longevity.

“In this particular case, the roof was integral to the design,” said MCA judge Mark Horton, FAIA, and principal at Mark Horton Architecture in San Francisco. “It wasn’t just a roof — but a roof that was used to express a design.”

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Part II: Creating Flexible, Dynamic Classrooms and Shared Spaces https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2017/06/13/part-ii-creating-flexible-dynamic-classrooms-shared-spaces/ Tue, 13 Jun 2017 22:21:08 +0000 http://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=42676 Enrollment at Elysian K-8 School in Billings has doubled recently, requiring a school remodel and expansion.

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BILLINGS, Mont. — Enrollment at Elysian K-8 School in Billings has doubled in recent years due to a flourishing local medical community and increasing nearby energy exploration, requiring a school remodel and expansion.

After passing a bond issue in 2013, work began on a nearly $8 million, 66,000-square-foot renovation and expansion project at Elysian K-8 School, which can now accommodate up to 480 students. Plans called for creating an innovative educational environment that would surpass any other in the region, maintaining the school’s high performance in state standards testing and complementing innovative single-family housing developments nearby.

Once Elysian K-8 School’s new Amarr doors open, two classes can quickly combine into one space to share findings from their respective lessons.

The Elysian school district determined that local Billings firm A&E Architects was the best choice for the school project. For added expertise on educational interior design, A&E Architects brought in Seattle-based partner and nationally recognized Integrus Architecture.

Eleven Amarr 3552 Heavy-Duty Aluminum Full View Sectional Doors specified by Integrus comprised a critical design element in the project. Each door features a wide expanse of 1⁄2-inch-thick clear tempered glass between 2-inch extruded clear anodized aluminum rails and stiles. The ClearView aluminum struts add strength and durability to the doors without restricting the viewing area and allowing the maximum amount of natural light.

Part I of this article explored how the full-view doors helped break down traditional classroom barriers. Here, we’ll explore how the project has improved flexibility and student engagement — as well as how the project benefited from BIM technology.

Flexibility and Expansion

A&E Architects’ Dusty Eaton, AIA, LEED AP, architect and principal, explained that part of the rationale for the full view doors was based on the need for increased flexibility and the ability to expand classroom sizes on an as-needed basis. “When a door (or combination of doors) is open, that quickly increases classroom space and allows students to move into shared break-out areas so they can easily dive into a cross-disciplinary and collaborative teaching environment,” Eaton said.

For example, while one class is focusing on a science lesson and another class is working on math problems, once the door opens, the two classes can quickly combine into one space to share findings from their respective lessons.

Eaton pointed out that he’s seen this in action in the school’s Yellowstone Room, which acts as an art/science makerspace. Once the full-view door is open, students can spill out from up to three classrooms and then go into full collaborative project mode.

“The most significant aspect of the full-view door concept is the glass itself,” Eaton explained. “It really helps to make the classroom and shared spaces feel larger when the doors are closed.”

BIM Software

Sam Schafer, AIA, senior associate and project architect with Integrus Architecture, shared that when designing the school’s interior, his firm used Autodesk Revit BIM (building information modeling) software, which helped to clearly demonstrate to the school board, superintendent and teachers the full-view doors’ placement and how they would be used.

Students can write on the doors with colorful dry-erase markers, or decorate them with artwork and other projects to make them their own.

“Full-view doors are a great way to bring natural daylight from exterior windows into a deeper floor plate than a traditional relight approach,” Schafer said. “The doors, especially in the new elementary portion of the school, really help bring more borrowed light into the classroom spaces and shared areas. This has also reduced the need for teachers to turn on overhead lights during sunny days.”

Schafer added that designing the doors into Elysian’s project involved addressing a few important safety details early in the process. For example, the design had to take into account fire sprinkler placement. “When the doors are open [they] block the sprinkler head on that part of the ceiling, so we needed to add an extra sprinkler head to cover that space,” he said.

Students Interaction

Eaton also emphasized that the full-view doors essentially serve as a flexible, dynamic and changing architectural wall element. Students can write on them with colorful dry-erase markers, or decorate them with artwork and other projects to make them their own.

“The final product clearly shows the level of commitment of everybody involved, including our firms, the general contractor, dealer/installer, the school board and the community who, all combined, embraced the potential of opportunity for what the school could become,” Schafer said.

“Initially, those involved on the project committees didn’t understand the concept of placing ‘garage doors’ in classrooms,” Eaton pointed out. “But once they understood it and saw it in action, the lights came on. They all agreed it’s a brilliant approach to dynamic education as well as community interaction and involvement.”

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Colorado School Consolidates All Grade Levels https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2015/02/11/colorado-school-consolidates-grade-levels-expands-opportunities/ OTIS, Colo. — Otis School District, located in northeastern Colorado near the Kansas and Nebraska borders, started 2015 off in a big way. In early January, the district celebrated the completion of the new 70,000-square-foot school building that will serve generations of PK-12 Otis Bulldogs.

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OTIS, Colo. — Otis School District, located in northeastern Colorado near the Kansas and Nebraska borders, started 2015 off in a big way. In early January, the district celebrated the completion of the new 70,000-square-foot school building that will serve generations of PK-12 Otis Bulldogs.

School Principal Michelle Patterson kicked off the Jan. 7 grand opening ceremony with a welcome to the students and community members who gathered to mark the event. “Today, we continue all of the greatness, all of the respect, and all of the responsibility that the Otis Bulldogs are known for,” Patterson said. “Today, we smile with pride and accomplishment for all the Otis community has delivered in its commitment to Otis Schools and to its students. Today, we celebrate all that our school has been and all that it will become.”

Funded primarily through the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program, as well as through a partial district match, the new $19 million facility replaces and consolidates the previously separate elementary, junior and high school buildings into a streamlined, sustainable and state-of-the-art learning environment. Due to the community’s small size and student population, the design allows all levels to share important resources, such as computer labs, art classrooms and special education spaces. However, each level is also divided into separate 8-classroom wings with flexible learning areas.

Thanks to green features such as a geothermal system, extensive daylighting and the use of both local and recycled building materials, the project is pursuing LEED Gold certification. President of the Otis School Board of Directors Paul Davis called the new facility “the most technologically advanced school in northeast Colorado.”

The previous Otis High School was built in 1922, while the existing elementary was completed in 1985. Over the years the district also added several supportive buildings and spaces, including a gymnasium, agricultural shop, library and locker rooms. The most recent addition to the community’s educational infrastructure was completed in 2009. That project added 2,500 square feet to the existing elementary school to create space for the preschool program, which up to that point had been contained to mobile units adjacent to the main building. That recent addition was also retained in the new design.

The new facility was designed by the Denver office of Wold Architects and Engineers and was built by Adolfson & Peterson Construction (A&P) with offices in Aurora, Colo. JVA Incorporated of Boulder, Colo. was the project’s civil engineer, while BKBM Engineers of Minneapolis provided structural engineering expertise. ME Group of Denver served as the electrical engineer on the project and Lafayette, Colo.-based Design Concepts managed the project’s landscape design.

Preconstruction on the phased project began in May 2013 and the A&P team hosted a topping out ceremony in April 2014. Construction wrapped up right on schedule in late 2014, despite 30 weather delay days.

Tom Stone, a project executive for A&P, commented at the grand opening on how the project was “all about family, community and making good on your promises.” “We are proud to show our commitment to the Otis community and are happy for their new place to call home,” Stone added.

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