This is the ninth community update from the Construction Site Committee. The purpose of this update is to share the information presented to both the Site and Steering Committees on 3/13/12. At the meeting, Ellen Luken, from Luken Architecture, shared an update on the exterior design concepts.
New Information from Facilities and Architectural Firm:
· Steel is the material selected for the pilings. Due to the boulders and sandshelf beneath the school, steel was determined to be the best option. There will be about 100 pilings added as part of the addition.
· The focus groups with the various groups were complete. Teachers provided input on the grade level needs.
· With regards to Minneapolis Kids, the space and bathroom concerns were discussed and address. For space, Minneapolis Kids will have access to both the lunch room and computer lab. For bathrooms, a set of dedicated bathrooms will be added to the old kitchen space.
· The architects are hiring an acoustics specialist to help with recommendations on noise in the classrooms and for the music room. There will be no carpet in the classrooms except for kindergarten. Areas rugs will be used instead.
· Reviewed two exterior design options (#4 and #5). Both design tie into the 1926 part of building. The designs accentuate the entrance. There is continuous glass around the lunchroom.
· This option was designed to create a unifying impression between the two different areas of building, the original 1924 building and the 1954 addition.
· The committing meeting scheduled will be changed to meeting every two weeks. Next meeting is on 3/27.
Summary of Discussion Points from Site Committee:
· Questions were brought up about the plan for lockers inside or outside of classrooms. For all of the new classrooms (except on 1st floor), there will be 12” wide lockers in the hallways. For the new kindergarten classroom, there will be dedicated cubby space inside the classroom. For the old classrooms, the coatrooms will remain the same inside the classrooms. For Minneapolis kids, there will be dedicated lockers in the hallways by the gum.
· A question was brought up about the sink plan for the cafeteria. The current plan is for only one main sink (similar to the existing sink). The teachers/admin provided input that this is a major back up area during lunch time. Architects will look at options for space and try to incorporate a second sink into the design to help with this issue.
· A question was brought up on the plan for Ms. Chun’s classroom (old art & music room) will be eliminated during the construction. One additional classroom will move out to the portables next year. A question was brought up on the plan for Art & Music during the construction. Art & Music will be on a cart. Office staff will be moving into a trailer during construction.
· A question was asked on what will be the main entrance for school during Construction. The main entrance will be the Drew entrance.
· The new building addition will be air conditioned. There will be some extra air conditioning provided for the parts of the old building that had unit ventilator replaced. These unit ventilators were “air condition ready” so they will be able to utilized the new chiller that is part of the addition.
Key Next Steps for Design:
· Exterior Design Review
· Schematic design Signoff
· Approximately March 1 - to City Minneapolis for permit
Upcoming Meetings:
· Site and Steering Committees joint meeting on 3/27 at 4:30pm
· Next Community Meeting is on 4/10 at 5:00pm
Contact Point for Community:
Joel Stensrud, a Construction Site Committee member, is gathering community questions and will ask them on the Community’s behalf at the Site Committee meetings. He will post the Q/A on the school website. Please send your questions to Joel at: jstensrud@comcast.net
For Reference - Key facts about the construction:
Construction Completion Date: Summer 2013
Construction Start Date: Summer 2012
Architectural Design Firm: Luken Architecture
Budget: $11 Million whole project budget
· $7.3 Million for construction,
· $3.7 Million for design, project management, soil borings and surveys, furniture and equipment, moving in cost, IT issues, etc.
Size: The Lower Campus Addition will be approximately 30,000 sq ft of space bringing the total of LHCS Lower Campus to around 63,000 sq ft.
Location: Addition will be built on the southeast corner of school.
New Information from Facilities and Architectural Firm:
· Steel is the material selected for the pilings. Due to the boulders and sandshelf beneath the school, steel was determined to be the best option. There will be about 100 pilings added as part of the addition.
· The focus groups with the various groups were complete. Teachers provided input on the grade level needs.
· With regards to Minneapolis Kids, the space and bathroom concerns were discussed and address. For space, Minneapolis Kids will have access to both the lunch room and computer lab. For bathrooms, a set of dedicated bathrooms will be added to the old kitchen space.
· The architects are hiring an acoustics specialist to help with recommendations on noise in the classrooms and for the music room. There will be no carpet in the classrooms except for kindergarten. Areas rugs will be used instead.
· Reviewed two exterior design options (#4 and #5). Both design tie into the 1926 part of building. The designs accentuate the entrance. There is continuous glass around the lunchroom.
· This option was designed to create a unifying impression between the two different areas of building, the original 1924 building and the 1954 addition.
· The committing meeting scheduled will be changed to meeting every two weeks. Next meeting is on 3/27.
Summary of Discussion Points from Site Committee:
· Questions were brought up about the plan for lockers inside or outside of classrooms. For all of the new classrooms (except on 1st floor), there will be 12” wide lockers in the hallways. For the new kindergarten classroom, there will be dedicated cubby space inside the classroom. For the old classrooms, the coatrooms will remain the same inside the classrooms. For Minneapolis kids, there will be dedicated lockers in the hallways by the gum.
· A question was brought up about the sink plan for the cafeteria. The current plan is for only one main sink (similar to the existing sink). The teachers/admin provided input that this is a major back up area during lunch time. Architects will look at options for space and try to incorporate a second sink into the design to help with this issue.
· A question was brought up on the plan for Ms. Chun’s classroom (old art & music room) will be eliminated during the construction. One additional classroom will move out to the portables next year. A question was brought up on the plan for Art & Music during the construction. Art & Music will be on a cart. Office staff will be moving into a trailer during construction.
· A question was asked on what will be the main entrance for school during Construction. The main entrance will be the Drew entrance.
· The new building addition will be air conditioned. There will be some extra air conditioning provided for the parts of the old building that had unit ventilator replaced. These unit ventilators were “air condition ready” so they will be able to utilized the new chiller that is part of the addition.
Key Next Steps for Design:
· Exterior Design Review
· Schematic design Signoff
· Approximately March 1 - to City Minneapolis for permit
Upcoming Meetings:
· Site and Steering Committees joint meeting on 3/27 at 4:30pm
· Next Community Meeting is on 4/10 at 5:00pm
Contact Point for Community:
Joel Stensrud, a Construction Site Committee member, is gathering community questions and will ask them on the Community’s behalf at the Site Committee meetings. He will post the Q/A on the school website. Please send your questions to Joel at: jstensrud@comcast.net
For Reference - Key facts about the construction:
Construction Completion Date: Summer 2013
Construction Start Date: Summer 2012
Architectural Design Firm: Luken Architecture
Budget: $11 Million whole project budget
· $7.3 Million for construction,
· $3.7 Million for design, project management, soil borings and surveys, furniture and equipment, moving in cost, IT issues, etc.
Size: The Lower Campus Addition will be approximately 30,000 sq ft of space bringing the total of LHCS Lower Campus to around 63,000 sq ft.
Location: Addition will be built on the southeast corner of school.