Vernon Verona Sherrrill Central School District Addition, Verona, NY

Category: Educational

The VVS School District ’s ‘ Shevron Community Center ’ is a 11,100 SF addition to their Middle/High School. In this rural community, the school’s longstanding athletic success is a source of great pride, and athletic events are community-wide social gatherings. The Center is a showcase of the community’s pride in their students, both past and future.

The building is designed to not only prominently display a large collection of trophies but to display and celebrate the community’s strong support of their youth. The school-colored ‘red wall’ acts as a backdrop from the microcosm of the individual trophy case to the macrocosm of the building as the trophy case. The individual trophy case is the genesis of the proportions carried through the detailing of the exposed structure, ‘red wall’, curtail wall, skylight, and flooring. While at the scale of the building, the zone created by the entire bank of trophy cases is carried into the curtain wall façade with a play between semi-transparent and clear glazing and is reinforced overhead by the extents of the skylight.

As a subplot, the building also reflects life lessons learned through high school athletics. Through the consistency of the three-dimensional grid and simplicity of materials, ideas of dedication, persistence, organization, confidence, and teamwork are conveyed. Finally the design captures the movement, excitement, and atmosphere of athletic events through the use of strong forms and building lines, bold colors, dynamic lighting, and forced perspectives.

The addition solves circulation issues by linking two of the building’s gymnasiums and serves as a main student entrance. The multi-functional Community Center is used during the school day as a student lounge and group-project work area. The space also hosts conferences or acts as an overflow space for events, such as graduation, through the use of the wall-mounted, closed-circuit televisions. The Center also houses the District’s progressive ‘project-based learning’ store/ concessions/ business lab. This classroom is a fully functional retail space designed to support the business curriculum and agri-market programs. Students gain valuable experience such as accounting practices, merchandising, customer service, and sales psychology.

#8 Vernon Verona Sherrill CSD – DESIGN AWARD Although this addition was relatively small in size, and relatively simple in program, the design solution met the challenges, artfully producing a dramatic and welcoming entrance and an uplifting new public space. The addition is a rare and successful example of a respectful, yet dynamic, addition to a typical postwar school building which transforms, but doesn’t embarrass, the original.

The President's Message

Spring is almost upon us, which for several years is a reminder to many of our members of the AIACNY chapter, that it is time to journey to Albany, to participate in the annual Architects in Albany Lobby Day. Lobby Day in Albany this year will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. We begin with a legislative briefing followed by each chapters scheduled meetings with legislators. Thanks to Jamie Williams and Steve Busa our appointments are scheduled. By appearing before legislators annually, we can advocate to our elected officials, issues that are relevant to our profession. Top Priorities for 2009 include Alternative Project Delivery, Corporate Practice of Design Professionals; Green Schools Construction, Qualifications-Based Selection of Professional Design Services; Smart Growth/Livable Communities; Historic Preservation Tax Credit; Good Samaritan Act; Design Liability Reform; and Funding for Prosecution of Illegal Practice. Bills in the legislature that AIANYS oppose include: Construction Threshold; Design Delegation; and Damages for Delay. To understand more about the 2009 AIANYS Legislative Program and to view a detailed description go to www.aianys.org. Your participation at Lobby Day is important and I hope that the many of you will join us in Albany this year. The governmental advocacy efforts of the AIANYS and AIACNY reflect the voice of our members.

SWINGING ON A STAR

“Would you like to swing on a star, carry moon beams home in a jar and be better off than you are, or would you rather be a Bidding Contractor?”

Would you like to be a Contractor?

“ 2009 may well be the year when we (architects) take charge of the means and methods and move into areas we have not known for over 50 years.”, Burton L. Roslyn, AIA AIANYS 2009 President.

“City Hands Firm $8.6M No-Bid Job,”, March 2, 2009 The Post-Standard newspaper.

“As both the United States government and state of New York have determined, a Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) process, rather than “bidding,” is the proper way to select design professionals.”, Orrin B. MacMurray Chairman, CEO of C&S Companies in Our Opinion section March 8, 2009 The Post Standard.

In my 50 years I would like to sight two low bidding examples that no architect could or will foresee:

In 1959 there once was an Air Base that had three Billets and a Dinning Hall with corroded piping.

A budget for replacement of the black piping with copper was between $50,000 to $70,000. The bids came in as follows from the 5 bidders, $29,000; $40,000; $70,000; $100,000 and $100,000. Once the post bid shock passed, the low bidder was asked if he did not want to withdraw his bid? His answer was No! Next question was how was he to do the project?

His method and means was most unique. “I am familiar with the buildings, their construction and have done projects within them before. The wood framing is flexible and when you hit it with your fist the drywall nails pop up. I have a tool that cuts a circle around the nail and the wall panel can be removed with out damage. My son and I shall replace the piping, reinstall the panel, spackle and paint the patch with the green paint to match the existing.”. That meant no other trade was required on the project, no coordination was required, father and son were paid with profit and overhead. The project was completed in two weeks and all were happy with the results. Who’da ThunK!

There once was a Federal Office Building out for bid. It was a large project in a prestigious location and there were many bidders. A construction company had its pricing in order and ready to submit, when the President stated, “I really want this project!”. “Knock $100,000 of the bid and submit.”

They were $100,100 under the second lowest bidder. So goes the science of bidding.

Architects will be too late to control methods and means as the codes writers have beat them to it. The real goal for Architects and Code Enforcement Officials is to have contractors read and understand what is required by the prescriptive codes. Contractors should stop being Philadelphia Lawyers selecting a phrase or one section to take issue with. They need to understand the whole family of codes that affect their scope of work (method and means) and apply due diligence in performing their tasks. It has been said if you never laid a brick, how can you build a wall?.

Opening of the Meeting: This meeting of the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects Central New York Chapter was held Thursday, February 12, 2009 at the AIACNY Resource Center . Julia Hafftka-Marshall, AIA called the meeting to order.

A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.
James Joyce

By Dean A. Biancavilla, AIA, LEED AP, Holmes King Kallquist & Associates, Architects, Syracuse, NY dab@hkkarchitects.com

We will cover two topics in this months’ article. One event to take note of in late April is that Syracuse will receive its final follow-up visit from AIA national on our SDAT project study conducted in 2006. And second I want to cover some information from the recent fourth “Energy Pulse” survey conducted by the Shelton Group has some unique results which are of interest to us in this series. The Shelton Group has conducted research for the AIA in the past and this survey covers topics relative to American’s use of energy.

It was my pleasure to have known Tom Kane as a mentor, co-worker, business partner and friend. We first met when I started at King & King Architects in 1982. Tom had been there for several years prior. He had come to King & King at the invitation of his friend and neighbor Russ King, shortly after the firm of Curtain, Kane, Gere and Ashley was dissolved.

Tom and I worked together on several projects at King & King including the Galleries of Syracuse and the Falcone Residence. It was working on the latter project that we found a shared interest in residential design. Tom had a wealth of residential projects under his belt, (he being much my senior). The one I found to be most exemplary of his design talents and lifestyle was his own home in Manlius. The post and beam structure tucked into a slope, natural wood and stone materials were used throughout. Solid walls presented to the public side with large expanses of glass opened to views of the wooded site and pond below. Furnishings by famed woodworker George Nakashima were found in the living and dining areas, furthering the natural ambience.

In 1988 I joined Tom to specialize in residential design. We worked out of that house, as Kane & Proulx Architects, until Tom retired to Georgia in 1994.

During the hours we spent in the office, Tom shared numerous stories with me. One of my favorites was about a trip he took while still in architectural school at Princeton. He and another college friend and their dates, decided to check out Philip Johnson’s “Glass House”. They drove past the “no trespassing” sign, down the long sloped drive. At the end of the drive was the house which, to their surprise, was filled with guests enjoying a cocktail party! Tom and friends decided they better high tail it out of there, but in doing so, proceeded to get the car stuck in the mud. The cocktail party guests got their share of entertainment watching as they struggled to get the car unstuck and back up the driveway!

Tom was a gentleman, an avid golfer, a tennis player, “river rat” and, in my humble estimate, a great architect. I owe much to Tom, and am grateful for his mentoring, and sharing of his knowledge and skills. I’ll always remember his favorite drink order, “An extra dry Tanqueray martini with a twist”. Tom here’s one for you!

As a Senior Designer, you will be responsible for the development of designs for buildings, and coordination with process systems and building systems as well as the production of construction documents. You will be involved with construction phase services, including submittal review and RFI responses and you will create conceptual illustrations via computer modeling and other techniques. All of the above is under the supervision of a Project Architect and Service Group Manager.

We reward your commitment with an attractive salary and full roster of competitive benefits. You’ll be encouraged to grow in the profession and we’ll provide many of the tools you’ll need to make it happen, including in-house professional development programs.

As a multicultural organization, we encourage individual achievement and recognize the strength of a diverse workforce. If you’d like to be considered, please submit your résumé and salary requirements along with the office location you are applying for, in confidence, to:

AIA New York Chapter’s public calendar is also a great place to promote both this Chapter’s events and other outside events: http://www.aiany.org/calendar/index.php