by Tracy Ostroff
The State of Connecticut is upgrading and changing the name of its trade
schools from Regional Vocational Technical Schools to Connecticut Technical
High Schools. That, says Paul Antinozzi, AIA, is a welcome design challenge
from the client. “The architecture and design of the buildings
can help people understand that there is very high-quality education
going on” at these facilities, he says.
Connecticut’s plans to upgrade 17 vocational education facilities
means more work for Antinozzi’s firm, Antinozzi Associates, which
is taking one former regional vocational school in Manchester from a
conventional trade school to contemporary technical high school. The
firm has just received its second commission for a school in Hamden,
which will include 111,000 square feet of renovations and 117,000 square
feet of new construction.
“This process of revisiting all these schools is not only to upgrade
them for code and programmatically, but also to change the image of the
schools,” which have somewhat of a stigma attached to them, Antinozzi
says. The Howell Cheney project in Manchester includes 88,000 square
feet of renovations and 101,000 square feet of new space. “It’s
like a little geometric puzzle. One thing moves here while you build
it, all the time maintaining safety and code.” Formal groundbreaking
for that $42.9 million project was June 13.
“We’re
in the feasibility study stages for the Hamden project at this point.” Antinozzi
lists four of the firm’s primary
programmatic considerations: concern for student safety; maintaining
the facility in operation throughout the process; phasing in the design
to avoid putting any activities off-site during construction; and making
sure, at the end of the process, everything is in its proper location.
It’s
much more of a planning exercise with the idea being the exploration
of several different design solutions.
New building, new image
“For the Manchester project, we came up with an innovative solution
where we stacked the technical trades. That hadn’t been done before.
Because of a slope in the site we were able to do it in a way that was
able to save a lot of area, reduce overall construction costs, and combine
several phases into one. We’re hoping to do that here [at Hamden],
too.” The architect anticipates that the 225,000-square-foot building
will be completed in three phases over an 18- or 24-month construction
period.
“At Cheney in Manchester, we really found that there was a strong
goal of the client to make this building into a very attractive and engaging
structure.” Like magnet schools, the architect says, students apply
from multiple towns to attend the technical facilities. “We’re
trying to make them look very contemporary. By doing that at Cheney,
we introduced some large curves to the appearance of the building, a
glass curtain wall, and battered pilasters. At the same time we are bringing
a unity to the whole building so that the building has a vernacular that
is the same at back as it is in the front. We are also upgrading all
of the finishes and introducing good landscaping and lighting so that
ultimately it looks like a new school.” The architects are renovating
all classrooms, administrative space, the gymnasium, cafeteria, and library.
The addition will encompass a new wing with 12 new classrooms and 10
new shops. The project also will include a restaurant to seat more than
50 people.
The $57 million Eli Whitney project ($43.2 million for construction)
will include 111,000 square feet of renovations and 117,000 square feet
of new construction. “The state’s technical high schools
are the original magnet schools, bringing together people from many communities
under one roof for a specific educational focus,” he adds. “Not
only is the program at Eli Whitney exciting in its own right, but, along
with the other technical high schools in the state, way ahead of their
time,” Antinozzi says.
“Now
the architecture will represent the fact that this is a vibrant, exciting
educational facility,” he says. “Clearly, we have
a client, the state departments of public works and education, that really
values the message that good architecture can present.”
New trends in trades
The trends in vocational education are driven by the local and statewide
job markets, Antinozzi says. Some of the newest trends in trades are
television studios and macroelectronic shops and “softer trades” such
as culinary programs. The architect notes that although the schools
will not seek green building certification, the design team is going
through the process of analyzing them to make them as environmentally
friendly as they can.
“Educational facilities represent a unique challenge for architects
because of generally significant budget constraints that are coupled
with a pronounced need to balance aesthetics with practicality,” said
Paul Antinozzi, president of the architecture firm. “I am particularly
pleased with the Manchester project. The substantial use of glass will
create an uncluttered, warm atmosphere to satisfy student and faculty
requirements while at the same time maintaining the fiscal restraint
required by the state.”
Antinozzi says there’s a strong commitment on the part of the
state to support this effort. Connecticut’s Department of Education
has budgeted for upgrades at 17 technical high schools. Work is awarded
through a strict qualifications-based selection process.
Copyright 2005 The American Institute of Architects.
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