K-12 Educational Facilities Design Award Winners Announced

Common design elements included drawing in natural light and easy-to clean surfaces.

by Mairi Beautyman

Interior Design · July 26, 2007

Bronx Lighthouse Charter School (Bronx NY)

The Boston Society of Architects and the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently held their third-annual K-12 Educational Facilities Design Awards, honoring outstanding public and private education projects.

A jury of industry professionals selected nine winners from 54 submissions. Jury members included Umberto Dindo AIA (Dindo Architect, New York City); Stuart Lesser AIA (Joslin, Lesser + Associates, Cambridge MA); Jennifer Marsh AIA (Mowery Marsh Architects, Hoboken NJ); and Jennifer Pinck (Pinck & Co., Boston).

Among the winning projects are an adapted warehouse, a ballet school, and a courtyard for an inner city school.

"We found similarities in finish and materials choice that may indicate that architects and builders have reached an interpretive plateau in the quest to provide well-designed places for teachers and children," the jury noted, and stressed the "tremendous challenges involved in making huge, sometimes inelegant, spaces feel intimate enough to support programs for children."

Trends included core atriums drawing in natural light and hard, easy-to clean surfaces.

A complete list of winners is below. Visit BSA (pdf) for jury comments.

Honor Awards for Design Excellence

The Atrium School (Watertown MA) for The Atrium School designed by Maryann Thompson Architects (Cambridge MA)…Michael Blier (landscape architect, Boston); Bowdoin Construction Corporation (contractor, Needham MA); Richmond So Engineers, Inc. (structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Wozny/Barbar Associates (MEP/FP engineer, Hanover MA); Gail Simon Associates (civil engineer, Belmont MA); The Green Engineer (Acton MA); Schirmer Engineering (code consultant, Framingham MA)

Stephen Gaynor School & Ballet Hispanico (New York City) for Stephen Gaynor School & Ballet Hispanico
Designed by Rogers Marvel Architects (New York City)…Seamus Henchy & Associates
(project manager, New York City) Severud Associates Consulting Engineers (structural
engineer, New York City); Flack and Kurtz (MEP engineer, New York City); Axis Group
Limited (curtainwall consultant, New York City); Van Deusen & Associates (elevator
consultant, Livingston NJ); Robert A. Hansen Associates (acoustic consultant, New York
City); Turner Construction Company (contractor, New York City)

Awards for Design Excellence

Center for Marine and Nautical Sciences, Tabor Academy (Marion MA)
for Tabor Academy
Designed by Newport Collaborative Architects, Inc. (Providence RI)…J. Madison, Inc.
(MEP engineering, Exeter RI); TEC Tibbets Engineering Corp. (civil engineer, Taunton
MA); Robert A. Cattley, PE RLS (structural engineering, Mattapoisett MA); Suffolk
Construction (contractor, Boston MA); Aaron Usher III Photography (photography,
Pawtucket RI)

The Reece School (New York City) for The Reece School
Designed by Platt Byard Dovell White (New York City)…Freeman/Frazier & Associates
(owner’s representative, New York City); Anastos Engineering (structural engineer, New
York City); Shen Milsom Wilke (MEP engineer, New York City); Cosentini Lighting
Design (lighting consultant); Peter Scherer (graphic design, Pleasantville NY); The Stegla Group general contractor, New York City); GTA Engineering Services of New
York (geotechnical engineer, Somerset NJ)

Auburn High School (Auburn MA) for Town of Auburn
designed by Flansburgh Architects (Boston MA)…URS Corporation (owner’s project
manager, Boston MA); Judith Nitsch Engineering (structural engineer, Boston MA);
Tavares Design Associates (food service/furniture and equipment, Arlington MA); Boston Building Consultants (structural engineering, Boston MA); TMP Consulting Engineers (MEP engineer, Boston MA); Edvance (technology specification, Chelmsford MA)

Citation for Interior Courtyard Design

John C. Daniels School (New Haven CT) for New Haven Public Schools
Designed by Davis Brody Bond (New York City)…Giordano Construction (construction
manager, Brandford CT); URS Greiner Woodward Clyde (MEP and structural engineer,
Pocky Hill CT); BL Companies (landscape architect, civil engineer, Meriden CT);
O’Dey, Lynch, Abbattista Consulting Engineers (energy modeling, Hawthorne NY);
Steven Winter Associates (building systems, environmental consultant, New York City);
McFarland Kistler Associates (food service consultant, Pittsburgh PA); Earth Design
Associates (geotechnical engineer, Hartford CT); Thomas A. Torrenti, PC (structural
peer review, Orange CT); Izzo Consulting and Training (security consultants); Joseph
Simeone Architects (consultants, New Haven CT)

Citation for Site Innovation

Robert Almy Jr. Academic Center (Chestnut Hill MA)
for Brimmer and May School
designed by Imai Keller Moore Architects (Watertown MA)…Skanska USA Building
(owner’s project manager); Richard White Sons (construction manager, Auburndale
MA); LeMessurier Consultants (structural engineer, Cambridge MA); Haley & Aldrich
(geotechnical engineer, Boston MA); Geller DeVellis (civil engineer/sports/landscape,
Wellesley MA); TMP Consulting Engineers (MEP/FP engineer)

Citation for Urban Design/Iconic Contribution to Streetscape

Bronx Lighthouse Charter School (Bronx NY) for Civic Builders
designed by Gran Associates Architects and Planners (New York City); DVL Consulting
Engineers (ME engineer, Hackensack NJ); Robert Silman Associates (structural engineer,
New York City); S. Digiacomo & Son (contractor, New York City)

Citation for Furnishings/Millwork

Public School 19 Library (Queens NY
Public School 46 Library (Bronx, NY) for The Robin Hood Foundation in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education designed by Tsao & McKown Architects (New York City)…William Armstrong Lighting Design (lighting, New York City); Lynn Pauley & Raghavea Kalanaraman (artists); F. J. Sciame Construction Co. (construction manager, New York City); Eastco Building Services (contractor, Deer Park, NY); International Woodwork (millwork, Queens Village NY); Pentagram (graphic design, New York City)