When the Episcopal Academy decided it was time to consolidate its lower, middle and upper schools into a single, unified campus, it set out to create a family of buildings related by materials and basic design details, yet distinguished by purpose and architectural style.
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| The Rosa Parks school in Portland, Ore., and two schools in Springfield recently received awards. |
Building information modeling, a technology that allows architects, engineers and contractors to create integrated, three-dimensional digital design documents, is at once a catalyst for tremendous change within the design/construction community and a source of confusion among design professionals and project owners.
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| DeJong |
Patrick Fiel, public safety advisor at ADT Security Systems, has more than 30 years of experience with security and law enforcement, including six years as executive director of school security for the Washington, D.C., public school system.
School districts are committed to quality educational opportunities for all students. However, when district administrators are confronted with a tight economy, declining enrollment and decreased public funding, it becomes difficult for them to continue to operate all school buildings.
These tough economic times may require districts nationwide to downsize their school facilities. Downsizing and/or consolidating often allows districts to deal with declining enrollment and expected budget shortfalls.
I’m going to come right out and say it: Building a green school doesn’t have to cost a penny more. You’ve heard that green schools save money over time, reducing energy, water and even healthcare expenses. What you may not know is that, these days, a green school can be built for a price comparable to a conventionally designed facility.
I don’t have to prove it. Your peers have done it for me.
Kenneth Trump, president of Cleveland-based consulting firm National School Safety and Security Services, has 25 years of experience at public and private schools in urban, suburban and rural settings. He has worked with jurisdictions in all 50 states and has authored several books and articles on school safety. He discussed the topic with School Construction News during a phone interview.
Every year the Modular Building Institute sponsors an awards program that recognizes the best projects in commercial modular building design and construction.
The ceremony to present the awards was held earlier this year during MBI’s annual convention and tradeshow in Las Vegas. Each entry was reviewed by a panel of industry and non-industry construction and code experts, architects and engineers, and marketing professionals.
A full list of awards and case studies are available at: www.modular.org/awards
