School Work in Session

4 Madison Projects Mimic Unique Needs of Students

by Elaine Schmidt

Each child is unique, as are each of four school projects under way in the Madison, Wis.

Lakeland School in Walworth County is a fully accessible, welcoming place for students between early childhood and high school with disabilities. Cottage Grove Middle School in suburban Madison is going green by installing a geothermal heating and cooling system. Additions and remodels are going on simultaneously at two high schools in nearby Janesville.

Here is a progress update on the projects.

Upgrade Considered, New School Built

Walworth County mulled the option of upgrading the existing Lakeland School because it needed to meet the existing standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act but instead opted to build a new school for $15 million.

“Because of the cost of bringing the existing building up to speed, it made more sense to build a new one,” says Abie Khatchadourian, partner with Milwaukee-based design firm Plunkett Raysich Architects.

The new structure will exceed ADA standards, he says. For example, doorways will be 3 ft, 6 in. and wider than the ADA-required 3 ft widths.

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Every detail of the design centers on the special needs of students with disabilities tactile surfaces reachable by students in wheelchairs; colors and patterns designed to either stimulate or soothe the mind; and various methods for accessing the pool. Low-harmonic ballasts in the lighting reduce sounds to which autistic children are sensitive.

The building features two early childhood classrooms, 12 primary school classrooms, nine middle school classrooms and nine secondary school classrooms, all designed for a maximum of 12 students and equipped with adjacent restrooms.

The building’s rectangular shape allows students to be segregated into elementary, middle or secondary levels, each taking one leg of the rectangle. The fourth corner is for after-school activities in an aquatic center, gym and therapy spaces.

The 110,000-sq-ft school was funded through bonds and donor dollars and open to any county student with special needs, says Kendall McWilliams, project manager for Janesville-based J.P. Cullen & Sons, the contractor.

The project has recycled 82% of construction waste and is slated for completion in July and just in time for summer school, McWilliams says.

Sisters with Similarities, Differences

There are similarities and differences to projects at Janesville’s sister high schools, Craig and Parker.

The two, which are 5 mi apart, are splitting a $70 million referendum, says Bob Klaas, operations manager for Cullen, also the contractor on these projects.

MEP systems need replacement at both schools in part because Craig was originally built in the 1950s and Parker in the 1960s. Over the 51 days of summer break, crews will remove mechanical, electrical and HVAC systems in both buildings and replace them with upgraded systems.

“It’s an extensive facelift,” Klaas says. Some rooms will be painted and given new light fixtures while others will have walls taken down and replaced. Asbestos abatement is being done in both.

Klaas says 200 to 300 tradespeople will be working on the schools some on second shift at the height of the summer work. Cullen will draw workers from about a 100-mi radius, including Milwaukee, and will temporarily pull some people from other projects.

Each school is also getting a new gymnasium. They will be about 28,600 sq ft and include a 150-meter running track.

A plan was created to get traffic in and out to satisfy the fire marshal. In addition, a crisis plan is in place at each location so that everyone knows how to respond in instances such as an emergency evacuation of the buildings.

Crisis management plans included places where workers go if there is a fire or accident. Some of the normal entrances are closed because of the construction, so new evacuation plans were created.

There also are differences between the projects. Craig is gaining 153,000 sq ft for a new cafeteria and kitchen and instructional areas for music and agriculture, Klaas says. In addition, 150,000 sq ft of the building will be remodeled.

Because the school is 50 years old, a new boiler room with hot-water system will replace the steam-heat system.

At Parker, about 110,000 sq ft of space will be added to house instructional space for art, science and business, as well as a new administration area. An additional 208,000 sq ft of the building will be remodeled.

“Parker was built a decade later [than Craig], so we’re upgrading there, but it’s already hot-water heat, so we don’t have to convert,” Klaas says.

Bray Associates Architects of Sheboygan was the architect on the projects.

Greening a School

The $23 million Cottage Gove Middle School just outside Madison is going green.

A ground-source geothermal heat pump system is being installing to use the Earth’s constant temperatures for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, says Jay Thomsen, project manager for Madison-based Vogel Bros. Building Co., the contractor. The project required 120 300-ft-deep bores to hold lines with antifreeze and other liquids pumped into the building.

Although more costly up front than traditional HVAC systems, the geothermal system’s payback is calculated on future electric and natural gas savings, adds Peter Szotkowski, Vogel director of business development.

Moreover, clerestory windows in an upper corridor and large, storefront windows will draw natural light into what would traditionally be dark, interior spaces of the school building. About 75% of the project’s construction waste has been recycled.

The 166,596-sq-ft building will accommodate a maximum of 800 students, Thomsen says.

The two-level building had irregular soils. Undercutting the building pad and replacing removed material with better-quality soil made all the difference.

With the building enveloped sealed before winter hit, interior work could proceed regardless of weather. It’s a good thing because Madison had experienced 80 in. of snow this winter, a record.

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