Governor Announces Innovative School Design Winners

PHOENIX — The governor’s office and the Arizona School Facilities Board announced winners of the Governor’s Achievement Awards for Innovative School Design for 2008.

Schools were recognized for innovative design in seven categories including accessibility, sustainability, safety and overall design.

The School Facilities Board submitted finalists to the governor. The five-person judging committee included design, construction, policy and planning experts.
Below are the winners in each category, the designers and notable attributes of each facility.

Accessibility for All: Phoenix Day School for the Deaf; DLR Group and general contractor W.E. O’Neil. ADA requirements were met with “flair,” universal access principles were integrated into the design concept and circulation design patterns and details showed sensitivity to special needs students and staff.

Schools as Centers of Community: Verrado Middle School; Orcutt Winslow, general contractor D.L. Withers. Judges noted the obvious and hospitable entry to site, direct and safe routes to the school, adaptable spaces for multiple activities and cooperative funding.

Personalized Learning Spaces: Valley View Early Learning Center; T. Howard + Associates, general contractor Heery International. The school accommodates the student and teacher connection, classrooms that are flexible to alternative teaching methods and informal learning spaces informed by smaller class size, student achievement and teacher performance.

Safety by Design: Faith North Elementary School; DLR Group, general contractor Sun Eagle Contractors. Features include crime prevention through environmental design principles, floor plan organization, communications provisions and careful selection of security hardware.

Sustainable Design: Civano Community School; Swaim Associates, general contractor Four L Construction Co. The design incorporated energy efficiency and water conservation, daylighting and windows in every classroom and renewable materials used in construction.

Technology for Teaching & Learning: Southwest Junior High School; Emc2 Group, general contractor FCI. The design included digital technology in the classroom and campuswide WiFi infrastructure. The server room hardware is displayed for public view.

Overall Architectural Design: Boulder Creek High School; DLR Group, general contractor W.E. O’Neil. The innovative and imaginative design concept, fits to the site and neighborhood and had an appropriate scale and organization of plan.