Page 30 - School Planning & Management, April 2017

FACILITIES { LEARNING SPACES }
Deciding What Building Materials to Specify
It’s time to build a new school, and there’s a lot more to the process than securing the funding and beginning the digging. One part of the process is choosing building materials. Here’s how.
By Ellen Kollie
BUILDING A NEW SCHOOL IS A LENGTHY, multi-layered process, requiring input from and strong com- munication among team members. To believe less is to be
naïve, and school administrators are anything but naïve. One por- tion of the process includes determining what materials to use, and why. Here are some guidelines to help you through the decision- making, ensuring you choose the best products, resulting in a beautiful, effective facility lasting well beyond its projected years.
What Is the Process Structure?
It would be nice to be able to say, “Here are the steps to follow to choose the right materials for your next construction project.” Unfor- tunately, it isn’t always that easy, because there are different types
of projects.
In some cases, the project architect provides school admin- istrators with material options, and they make the selection. In other cases, there is a collaborative environment where the entire project management team is involved, including the architect, engineers, construction manager, materials suppliers, interior designers and school administrators. “This happens often, and especially on our big projects, such as New Haven, Conn. schools and Rochester, N.Y. schools,” says Susan Hentschel Tully, senior project manager and K-12 Center of Excellence/Market Leader for Gilbane Building Company, Philadelphia.
In both of these situations, materials decisions are made dur- ing design. Administrators can often expect three options to be presented: one with a low up-front cost, one with a longer-term life expectancy and lower maintenance cost, and one in between.
30 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2017
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF GILBANE BUILDING COMPANY