School Image

The instructional media center’s aluminum cladding conveys an image of embracing the future.

Building a company identity into corporate architecture is a concept making its way into education design. One example is the new $3 million instructional media center at The Wheatley School in Old Westbury, N.Y., completed in 2002.

The public high school serves 680 students in the East Williston School District, and does so
with distinction. Students at The Wheatley School come from high-achieving backgrounds and are often on their way to prestigious universities. Even the school’s name, its own principal confesses, strikes an unusually high note.

Designs needed to accommodate a motivated student body embracing new technology. "A student who isn’t scheduled for a class is basically permitted to use that time as they choose, rather than being assigned to a study hall," says Principal Richard A. Simon. "Part of the concept of our new media center is to have a space for independent research."

Wheatley officials also wanted the project to be a bold stroke, and didn’t require the addition to fit with the modernist brick box of the existing 1960s-era facility. Spector Group designed not just a 6,300-square-foot instructional media center, but a new Wheatley image. Instead of being placed within the school, as in a traditional school library, the media center has a more dramatic presence at the school entrance, which previously was undefined.

Isolated areas were included to accommodate independent research.

Though Spector Group has a background in education architecture, the firm is better known for designing corporate headquarters suited to specific company images. Sony’s new regional base has dark glass walls befitting a high-tech company, while a renovation of Prudential’s headquarters relied on time-tested materials like wood and stone to convey longevity and dependability.

The high school’s identity was defined as the reaching for the future. "We chose to express technology and something breaking," says Michael Mannetta, director of design for Spector Group and the project’s lead designer. The curved and fluid addition strongly differs from the visually stagnant lines of the existing brick school, and the aluminum façade provides only the most subtle connection with the school’s aluminum window mullions.

"The media center is the heart and soul of the school, and more importantly, the brain," Mannetta says. "All the educational accoutrements needed are created in the media center and then, like nerve signals, the information goes to the classrooms and is controlled by teachers using a large screen."

The nerves lead outside the school as well, and all but the sickest students are expected to monitor their classes from home via the Internet. As for teleconferencing, Principal Simon reports this capability has not been used much so far, but notes the idea was to include technology for the next generation as well as the current one.

Within the media center is a technology room with 28 computers arranged in a circle around a teaching area. Niches accommodate work groups of various sizes, and a full-time instructional technologist is part of the library staff, available to help students and teachers familiarize themselves with the various technologies.

Books in the thoroughly wired media center were placed to the side, while the central area includes small round tables of light wood, under a high ceiling, offering a Scandinavian feel. "If you go to the back of our stacks, there’s a counter-high table with bar stools that runs across a bank of windows," says the school principal. "It’s that isolated spot you find in college, where you can read looking out on a beautiful campus, which right now is covered in snow."

Technology workrooms were placed nearer to the center of the media center, while book stacks were placed to the side.

All ductwork, structural elements, and wiring are exposed, allowing students to appreciate the functionality of the space, inspiring interest and creativity. The tinted green glass curtainwall includes multiple layers of sun-shading to minimize glare. Steel and aluminum mix with the shading to create a futuristic look and a mature environment appropriate for college-bound students.

"Starbucks!" said some students when they saw it for the first time.

Another important aspect of the project is the intention to serve the Old Woodbury community, too. With the media center placed at one side of the entrance, it is easy to close off the rest of the school for after hour’s use, a gate and a special restroom provided for this purpose.

Wheatley officials have since decided to add a landscaped outdoor reading area, incorporating benches and offering privacy. In addition, a local artist is providing an 8-foot, dark metal sculpture in the shape of an ‘@’ symbol to signify connectivity.

The cumulative result of this new media center is an updated image that announces a commitment to an educational world changed by technology. "The addition reflects the world they’re living in, not the world of 40 years ago," says Mannetta.