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.

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.”

The post MCA Winter Awards Ceremony Recognizes Schools for Excellence in Design appeared first on School Construction News.

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.

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.

“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.”

The post Part II: Creating Flexible, Dynamic Classrooms and Shared Spaces appeared first on School Construction News.

After successfully passing a bond issue in 2013, work began quickly on the 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 located nearby.

Breaking Traditional Barriers

“We didn’t want to just add more boxes of classrooms. We wanted to do it right,” stressed Lucas Larson, Elysian K-8 School superintendent at the time of project’s design and construction.

Larson and his team looked closely at award-winning schools in other states that offered collaborative and flexible learning spaces along with a lot of natural light. “The result we achieved fit in very well with what our school board, teachers, staff and community envisioned,” Larson added.

“We were convinced that our own full view doors would also break down the barriers of a traditional classroom approach, encourage more collaboration among teachers and increase the flexibility of space,” Larson continued.

The inspiration for the Elysian K-8 School project was based in part on a trip Larson and school board members took to visit one particular school in Washington State. That school was well known for its innovative interior design concept that includes full-view sectional doors with clear panes of glass integrated into the classroom learning environments.

“Once we witnessed the doors in action, we were convinced that our own full-view doors would also break down the barriers of a traditional classroom approach, encourage more collaboration among teachers and increase the flexibility of space,” Larson said.

Two Architects, One Vision

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 a Seattle-based partner, nationally recognized Integrus Architecture.

Larson explained that the district was comfortable with the progressive insights A&E and Integrus provided as well as both firms’ willingness to listen and talk about ideas with a vision that reached beyond the norm.

Working seamlessly, A&E focused on exterior design elements (due especially to the firm’s familiarity with the local climate), while Integrus concentrated on interior design and classroom layout. Eleven strategically placed Amarr 3552 Heavy-Duty Aluminum Full View Sectional Doors specified by Integrus comprised a critical design element.

Each of the full-view doors 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.

“A considerable amount of planning went into the door locations,” Larson said. “For example, there were several middle school classes accustomed to working collaboratively, so it made sense that they would benefit from the increased access between classrooms.”

Larson added that all of the school’s teachers were highly involved in the overall design process and spent time talking with the architects.

The renovation part of the project centered on Elysian’s middle school area. Due to a few pre-existing constraints, all six full-view doors in that part of the school are the same size — 9 feet by 8 feet — with the exception being one corner classroom which has a 4-foot by 8-foot door. The new elementary section incorporated 12-foot by 8-foot and 9-foot by 8-foot doors in the library. All classrooms with full-view door access still retain standard entry and exit doors.

High-quality Construction

Joining the architectural team and local general contractor Fisher Construction Inc. was Alpha Overhead Door, also of Billings. Alpha Overhead Door’s General Manager Matt Weber handled the door installation process.

“The Amarr full-view doors represent our first experience in the school interior environment,” Weber shared. “They play not only an important daily functional role but also provide a really cool industrial look.”

Weber added that the team only encountered a few engineering challenges along the way. “We spent some extra effort on a low headroom setup and integrating the doors’ track supports into the drop ceiling design,” Weber said. “We also modified the cable runs so they aren’t exposed to the kids in any way that would cause potential safety issues.”

After installation, Weber provided teachers with basic how-to advice on what to look out for when operating the doors with students nearby. When closed, the doors are padlocked so students can’t open the doors’ slide lock mechanisms.

Read more about this project in Part II of this story, available online on June 14.

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