Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) of Milwaukee designed the new school on the site of its predecessor, incorporating a number of design methods to meet the district’s sustainability goals. As the first school to earn LEED Platinum certification under the new LEED v4 pilot program, Lake Mills Elementary School can now claim to be one of the greenest schools in the nation, according to a statement by EUA.

EUA joined the project in fall 2011 to assist with pre-referendum planning and design services to address the school’s aging structure and systems and to address overcrowding. To foster community engagement, EUA recommended working with a community-based committee to determine needs as part of a long-term facilities plan, according to a statement by the firm. Based on the feedback gathered, Lake Mills Area School District officials chose to replace the existing elementary school, and an $18.7 million referendum was passed in November 2012 to support the project. Miron Construction of Neenah, Wis., was the project’s builder.

The more than 93,000-square-foot, K-4 school earned LEED Platinum by incorporating a white membrane roof on the gymnasium for reduced solar heat gain and installing solar hot water panels to supplement the traditional water heating equipment. It also includes a photovoltaic array that produces more than 13,000 kWh of energy annually, while a closed-loop geothermal system provides for 100 percent of the school’s heating and cooling needs. Careful attention was also paid to the building envelope, which was designed and built to keep moisture out and to keep conditioned air in.

Outside, a green roof features vegetation trays for water absorption and visual interest as well as acts as a teaching and learning space. Touch screens located throughout the facility provide yet another way for students to interact and learn from the building, which is flooded with natural light thanks to large exterior windows and glass wall sections.

In addition to its latest sustainability honor, Lake Mills Elementary School also received a number of other commendations, including a Green Ribbon Schools Award from the U.S. Department of Education in 2015 and the Se2 (Sustainability Energy Efficiency) Award of Excellence from USGBC Wisconsin in 2015.

The post Lake Mills Elementary School Earns Top Sustainability Certification appeared first on School Construction News.

School Construction News spoke with Chris Michaud, LEED AP, design architect, associate for Milwaukee, Wis.-based Eppstein Uhen Architects, which served as the architect on the project, about several enhancements made to the school.

Q: What were some of the key design elements involved in the Franklin High School project?

Michaud: It was very important that we created large breakout and commons spaces for the students throughout the school to use as extensions of the learning environments as well as places to socialize, and to incorporate a lot of transparency from space to space as well as to the exterior. In the prefunction space for the auditorium, we incorporated comfortable furniture groupings for students to use during the school day. This space’s extensive use of glass creates a wonderful daylit environment for students during the day and a glowing beacon at night for evening performances.

Q: What were the safety and security measures included in the facility design?

Michaud: A large component of the project included reorganizing site circulation and expanding parking to increase site safety. The site transformation allowed for all students to park on site rather than parking off site along busy surrounding streets and separated parent pick-up traffic from bus traffic. The building also employs a high degree of transparency on the exterior as well as the interior, which promotes an “eyes on the street” approach, ensuring that the well-being of students is paramount, minimizing misconduct through passive supervision. Staff and administrators have clear, unobstructed views of the surrounding site, allowing a visual assessment of visitors before they even reach the school doors.

The school is also broken up into a number of smaller areas — all with the ability to be locked down instantaneously, creating a multitude of barriers within the school that limit the advancement of an intruder. Within the PAC, the music suite uses fully glazed doors to its ensemble spaces and practice rooms to aid in supervision, and the entire area can be locked when classes are not in session.

Q: How was technology incorporated into the facility?

Michaud: The PAC uses a number of state-of-the-art technologies in lighting and sound. Video and audio feeds connect to the surrounding prefunction space, dressing rooms and ensemble spaces. The prefunction space was also designed to allow for small ensemble or theatrical performances to occur before and after performances. The music lab, which incorporates a number of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) consoles, has an adjacent recording studio and engineering room, and the band, orchestra, choir and performance spaces are all able to record to this lab. The main performance space (as well as the band, orchestra and choir rooms), were all acoustically modeled by a sound consultant, ensuring the desired acoustical performance.

Q: Was the project designed with LEED certification in mind?

Michaud: While the client did not plan to pursue a LEED rating, we did employ a number of green strategies, including on-site stormwater management, LED light fixtures, energy-efficient mechanical equipment and high-performance glazing.

Q: How does this project compare to those you’ve completed in the past?

Michaud: Something that was paramount on this project, that we find ourselves doing on many projects, is designing spaces that shift from a teacher-centered model of traditional classroom instruction to a student-centered model that focuses on spaces that promote collaboration, team-teaching and interdisciplinary, project-based learning. The PAC was designed to provide not only a first-rate performance space, but also a space for students to use independently to create, compose, choreograph and collaborate with their peers throughout the day. On a larger scale, the PAC has created a sense of pride within the community as a great performance space for students and community groups alike.

The post Q&A: Franklin High Delivers More Student-Centered Spaces appeared first on School Construction News.

Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) served as the architect on the project, while Neenah, Wis.-headquartered Miron Construction Inc. served as the construction manager. School Construction News spoke with Bob Morris, design architect for EUA, about participating in the LEED v4 beta program and how it helped create a more energy-efficient school.

Q: What is involved in being a participant in the LEED v4 beta program?

Morris: As part of LEED V4 beta, the building was held to substantially higher standards for sustainability than in previous rating systems. The new system challenged us to be more responsible in the areas of energy usage, water conservation, indoor air quality and acoustical performance, and encouraged us to consider how the building itself could be a teaching tool for future generations. By participating in the beta program, the team was able to sit down in person with USGBC representatives, providing practical feedback for the implementation of the new system and helping to shape future requirements for the next LEED program.

Q: In what ways does LEED v4 help create a more holistic approach to green design?

Morris: A holistic design process begins with an integrated design team. For Lake Mills Elementary, this meant working with the construction manager (Miron Construction) and the owner to establish a complete team including engineering trades and a sustainable engineering specialist. The team met regularly to identify goals, establish priorities and assign responsibilities.
During building design, the collaboration continued. EUA worked with the district to establish a visionary team of progressive teachers to encourage out-of-the-box thinking for improving the learning environment and establishing sustainable education processes. EUA worked with [Middleton, Wis.-based] Sustainable Engineering Group to analyze building life-cycle costs and efficiencies of building systems and components. During construction, Miron Construction took responsibility for ensuring that green goals were carried out, and independent building commissioning was performed to verify results.
Finally, LMASD and the teaching staff of Lake Mills Elementary embraced the opportunity to implement green principles. Sustainable practices have been incorporated into the educational process, and Lake Mills became the nation’s first school to certify its entire staff as USGBC Green Classroom Professionals.

Q: How was sustainability incorporated into the design?

Morris: The school serves as a sustainable teaching tool, infusing environmental awareness into the design. Interactive touch-screens allow students to monitor building operations and energy usage and promote awareness of other green features, including:

• Siting & Design: Sustainable design began with a compact, two-story configuration oriented to take advantage of northern and southern lighting exposures, and minimize heating and cooling gains.
• Building Envelope: Energy modeling was used to optimize the amount of roof and wall insulation, determine the most-efficient wall-to-window ratio, analyze solar heat gain and glare, optimize daylighting and determine appropriate roof color.
• Mechanical Systems: A closed-loop geothermal system circulates liquid solution underground to increase the efficiency of heating and cooling systems.

Q: How does this school cater to teaching and learning?

Morris: The traditional classroom was replaced with a suite of interconnected spaces that allow students to work in environments best suited to their specific needs. Lightweight, durable and mobile furniture solutions encourage student movement and allow for constant reconfiguration. Corridors and spaces beneath stairs are reclaimed to create seating alcoves and casual collaboration opportunities. Integrated reading nooks and child-scaled design elements encourage engagement for a personalized curriculum delivery.

Transparency also became a key to the new design, allowing students to move about the spaces freely with seamless supervision. Learning neighborhoods are light-filled, open and transparent, eliminating environments for bullying and harassment. An unobtrusive secure-entry sequence welcomes the community in, while the learning neighborhoods are designed to be sectioned off at multiple levels in a lockdown scenario without sacrificing transparency between core learning spaces.
 

The post Q&A: Lake Mills Elementary Participates in LEED v4 appeared first on School Construction News.

Locally based Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) worked with DHSA to develop a master plan that includes renovation solutions and provides visual continuity and physical connectivity between the new and existing buildings that make up the school.

“As a proud parent of a DSHA graduate, I have felt blessed to be part of this key project in helping continue the strong DSHA tradition,” said Greg Uhen, CEO of EUA, in a statement. “The forward-thinking solutions being implemented through this campaign will benefit students for years to come.”

The school will receive several enhancements to accommodate for growing enrollment. The R.J. Fridl Commons area adjacent to the gym will link The Quad to the new health and wellness center and academic wing. The new 32,000-square-foot Sarah M. Hegarty Fitness Center will feature a new three-station gymnasium and expanded fitness facilities.

The Sylvia R. DuBois Chapel and Campus Ministry Center will also undergo a dramatic renovation, which will move the former chapel to its original central placement in the school. Offices and programming spaces for the campus ministry program will surround it. The school will also receive new instruction and rehearsal space for vocal and instrumental ensembles as well as six new general-purpose classrooms that will accommodate DSHA’s capacity enrollment and its growing curriculum.

The Sarah M. Hegarty Fitness Center was made possible by a $500,000 gift from the Majerus Family Foundation. The various phases of the project are scheduled to reach completion in 2015.

The post Milwaukee Catholic School to Undergo Massive Renovation appeared first on School Construction News.

The K-4 school will house 600 students and feature five classrooms per grade level, as well as three additional flexible classroom areas, a collaboration/resource area, a two-station gym and a secured main entrance. School Construction News spoke with Eric Dufek, K-12 market leader for Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA), the architect on the project, as well as Teresa Wadzinski, the firm’s project manager, about the design measures needed to make the building as energy efficient and secure as possible.

Q: When will the project officially be completed?

Wadzinski: Construction will be completed in early June. The project is doing a full one-month shut down from June 20 to July 20 after the furniture install. This time allows for the new furniture and building materials (paint, flooring, casework, etc.) to “off-gas” any toxic fumes before occupation. The off-gassing period is helping the building meet LEED certification (as part of the v4 beta program with a Silver goal). The school will be in operation starting the fall semester of 2014.

Q: What is the main goal of the project?

Wadsinski: This new elementary school is being developed as a solution to an outdated building. The new facility includes secure entrance features (such as the ability to lock down specific learning units) and is an example of the latest in 21st century design practices. The school is also a living training tool in sustainability with touch screens in the front hall for students to interactively see the building operations and energy usage.

Q: What are some of the key design elements involved in the project?

Dufek: The district is making a leap from a 1950’s “cells and bells” design to an educational environment designed around active and collaborative learning. Throughout the process, EUA challenged the teachers to think beyond how they currently use their classrooms and instead think about learning spaces without limitations. This hands-on design process resulted in a transparent environment where staff and students can remain engaged in the learning process while working in large-, medium- and small-group configurations. Learning happens throughout a facility, therefore, EUA created small group educational opportunities in circulation paths and adjacent to staircases with strategically located flexible and built-in furniture.

Q: What are some specific security or safety measures incorporated into the design?

Dufek: Creating a safe school design is more than just keeping unwanted people out of the building. The site is designed around the separation of parent vehicle, bus and walking student traffic. Access to and from the site for each traffic category heavily influenced the location of the building and the associated entrances. The entrance and exterior doors are specifically designed around passive and active security. All exterior doors are monitored with electric strikes and cameras while the main entrance utilizes a secure entrance sequence with five separate opportunities to make visual and verbal acknowledgement of a visitor before they are allowed to enter the greater learning environment of the school.

Q: Are there specific security or safety measures required when designing a 21st century school? If so, what are they and why are they important?

Dufek: The biggest challenge in creating an active and transparent learning environment is designing the spaces to also be secure. EUA strategically located the individual learning neighborhoods off a main street corridor design that allows for fire doors to electronically close and lock if an intruder were to get past the secure entrance sequence. From the main street corridor, an intruder has no visual connection to the learning neighborhoods that are primarily designed with transparent walls.

The post Lake Mills Elementary Designed for Security appeared first on School Construction News.

Designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects of Milwaukee, the three-story, 60,500-square-foot building aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and offer a wide array of instruction for students. Each floor in the building was designed with its own unique purpose and function. However, it is in combining all of these functions to work together that creates a truly unique learning environment for FVTC students.

“You can combine these and create a scenario where you take these ranging entities and create some event that happens on campus,” said Bob Vajgrt, education environments studio director for EUA and project manager on the project.

The first floor was designed as a virtual hospital with eight emergency rooms with state-of-the-art human patient simulators, debriefing rooms in order for students and instructors to discuss their most recent simulation, and a mock ambulance. The dummies used in simulations have the ability to change vital signs or even expel fluids. The school also has a space to simulate an operating room.

The proximity of these simulations allows students and professionals to see the necessary and most effective way to treat patients from the ambulance to the operating room.

“You can go through that entire sequence and understand what happens out in the field — how the patient gets in the ambulance, how the patient gets to the exam room and how the patient gets into the operating room,” Vajgrt said. “I think that’s a pretty unique opportunity for students and for professionals who are already in the community.”

The building is laid out in such a way that the proximity of the simulation stations encourages this flow from ambulance to emergency room. Creating an experience in which students can see the whole story is largely beneficial to their education, Vajgrt said.

“If you don’t bring them together, you don’t understand how the patient got into the ambulance or what information was transferred to the hospital,” he said.

The second floor is geared toward students with an interest in careers as medical assistants, phlebotomists and health information technology technicians. The floor houses a six-room outpatient clinic, mock doctor’s office with reception area, functioning phlebotomy lab and two computer labs.

The third floor is dedicated to rehabilitative and home care with mock home settings, such as kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and bedrooms, and large breakout areas to practice physical therapy and have class discussions. The home settings can also be used to replicate emergencies in home settings.

Each floor has collaborative spaces with flexible furniture, daylighting and views to the outdoors that all further encourage collaboration.

The HSTC was completed in August 2013.

The post New Center Creates Real-Life Simulations for Medical Students appeared first on School Construction News.