Page 45 - School Planning & Management, May 2017

CASE HISTORIES { REAL-WORLD SOLUTIONS } Room(s) to Breathe
DUE TO A SUDDEN influx
of students, Riverside Elemen- tary School in Brainerd, Minn.,
found itself in dire need of an expansion. It had reached the point during the 2014- 15 school year that students were attend- ing classes in an abandoned locker room.
Faced with the pressing deadline of an impending new school year, the district looked to National Joint Powers Alliance and Gordian ezIQC for a fast solution that still met procurement requirements.
At the onset of the project, the school laid out three stipulations:
• Make the budget work;
• Complete the project by the start of the
school year; and
• Use as many local subcontractors, suppli-
ers and workers as possible.
Crews broke ground for the 12,150-foot
addition in March 2015. The project scope included seven new classrooms, boys’ and girls’ bathrooms, plus bathrooms in two classrooms, a staff work space for copier machines and computers, and a staff bath- room. Overall, the project increased the school’s space by approximately 20 percent.
By accessing the competitively solicited ezIQC contract with Hy-Tec Construction, available through NJPA, the project was accelerated and the school district’s three main goals were achieved.
The project was completed within the budget, on time, and 93 percent of the subcontractors and suppliers were located within a 20-mile radius of the work site.
Earl Wolleat, Brainerd Public Schools director of building & grounds, praised the ezIQC process and work of Hy-Tec:
“It wasn’t on time, it was ahead of
NJPA and Gordian helped to provide a solution to construction and timing problems faced by Riverside Elementary as they implemented an expansion to ease student crowding issues.
schedule. And that’s one of the things
that still amazes me about this project. It came in on budget, and you know, that’s
all somebody from buildings and grounds can expect is on time and on budget, [then] move on to the next project,” he says.
www.njpacoop.org
Tandus Centiva Powerbond is one colorful element of Trillium Creek Primary School that makes it an inviting and engaging place for children to learn.
students, teachers and whole community. As one student put it, “The fun things kind of inspire you and the cool things make us want to come to school.” SPM
www.tandus-centiva.com
Connecting the Community
TRILLIUM CREEK PRIMARY School in West Linn, Ore. is the kind of place you just want to be. It includes lots of open spaces to invite collaboration and a library that looks like a forest. Splashes of bright colors adorn the floors and walls. Natural finishes bring the outdoors in. And a giant slide connects students from the second to the first floor because, why not?
The school redesign represents the successful culmination of an inclusive planning process with the district and community — an expansive approach that invited everyone in to reimagine the learn- ing environment, especially the students themselves. In fact, one fifth-grader’s quote became a sort of mantra for the whole school’s design: “I want to be the captain of my own learning.”
Underneath it all, Tandus Centiva Powerbond is there, grounding the design with a wonderfully durable soft surface that can seamlessly integrate bright color inlays while transforming even the floor- plane into a place where kids` can hang out and learn. And it helped achieve a primary objective: A sustainably designed environ- ment that models responsible stewardship of resources. Because Tandus Centiva Powerbond performs so well for so long; because it stays looking good for 20, 30, even 40 years (and beyond); and because when it finally does need to be replaced, it’s easily recycled.
Trillium Creek won the National 2014 James D. MacConnell Award, which rec- ognizes excellence in comprehensive plan- ning in educational design. But even more importantly, the school’s a winner with the
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