Atlanta Public Schools’ Frederick Wilson Benteen Elementary School underwent major renovations and happily revealed the results at a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The newly renovated Ralph Bunche Middle School earned an Honor Award last week from the South Atlantic Chapter of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA).
An expanded and renovated Atlanta Public School that re-opened in the fall of 2015 after completing construction earned an Honor Award and recognition from the South Atlantic Chapter of the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA).
The renovated Ralph Bunche Middle School located in southwest Atlanta was honored at the organization’s annual banquet and awards ceremony held June 15, at the Carlos Center in Atlanta.
The annual CMAA South Atlantic Chapter Construction Management Project Achievement Awards program recognizes outstanding achievement in the practice of construction management. The awards program is designed to recognize and promote professionalism and excellence in the execution and management of the building construction industry.
Bunche MS prior to the $32.9 million renovation project, funded through SPLOST.
Originally constructed in 1979, Bunche was extensively renovated and expanded including enclosing previously open classrooms, the construction of a new auditorium and gymnasium and additional building improvements designed to meet the current instructional needs of the district as part of a $32.9 million project, funded through SPLOST. The building was designed by Cooper Carry, Architects and built by J.E. Dunn Construction.
This is the sixth such award from CMAA to APS projects. It was among several other recognitions presented to APS by the organization for 2016 representing continuing industry acknowledgement of project achievements in the construction industry and the district’s Capital Improvement Program.
With a target completion date of July 2015, Bunche Middle School, which began receiving renovations in the fall of 2013, will continue construction during the upcoming school year.
The renovation and facilities team are making great progress. Demolition is complete, the building pad is being prepared for concrete slab and walls are being erected.
The Bunche construction project consists of a partial demolition, renovation and addition. The construction and design team says the main focus is ensuring all spaces can be utilized efficiently. The gym and outdoor play area has been taken down completely and the during renovation the team will expand this space; rebuilding the gym and adding a performing arts wing. Bunche has a variety of fine arts programs including choral music, band, orchestra and dance.
The performing arts wing will include a new auditorium with a full stage, projection booth and will seat more than 450 occupants. There will be lobby space that separates the auditorium from the new gymnasium. The gym will include all new hardwood floors, pull out bleachers, practice courts, main court and will seat approximately 1000 people. The back of the gym will have locker rooms that lead out to a new 400 meter track and football field and an expanded softball field.
Surrounding the athletic fields and the school building will be a beautiful landscaping. Cooper Carry architect and project manager, Bob Just explains that there is a city ordinance in Atlanta that states for every tree you take down you have to produce another one, so the design team decided to use this as an educational opportunity for the students.
“We’re landscaping this site like an arboretum as a teaching school for the kids. There will be rows of different species of trees and as the seasons change the kids will be able to watch rows of tress from once species change colors differently than other rows.”
Bunche was originally built in 1977. Just said that during this time the classroom models that were being utilized no longer work for contemporary schools and will now be updated.
“It was originally built during a time in educational history when the open classroom was being utilized,” said Just. “Once open classrooms were considered not to be working very well, walls were put in and compartmented all of the classrooms into triangular shapes; making a lot of the space unusable and hard to teach in.”
The classroom building is part of the partial demolition and renovation. Classroom configuration was one of the major concerns during the design process. Not only were the shapes of the classrooms making it hard to teach, they were 30% smaller than the standard classroom size. The team tore the building down to the concrete structure. There will be brand new exterior and interior finishings which will provide more efficient space. The classrooms will now be APS standard at 750 sq. ft. and separated into pods by grade level. Each pod will have a computer lab and 9 classrooms with smart boards and a technology wall.
The dynamic new school entry way will be a double level courtyard with beautiful windows providing an abundance of natural light, more direct access to parking and a smoother bus and car drop off process. The bus lanes will be expanded to occupy more buses. The upper level will be dedicated for bus drop off and the lower level for car drop off.
Other updates include an all-new cafeteria, a new double level, high volume media center and an increased number of bathrooms.
Bob Just expressed that the construction and design team is focused on making sure the students love and take pride in their new school. “Just like with the North Atlanta High School, we’re trying to create a private place, so that when the kids come to school here; this school doesn’t just look like every other school they’ve seen. So they can say this is my school. It’s different.”
The project is slated for completion in its entirety by July of 2015, with the doors opening for students for the 2015-2016 school year.
Construction of the new E. Rivers Elementary School is on target for its 2015 opening.
Major progress has been made since the start of construction, with the construction and design team now in the steel erection phase of the project. If you drive by the school via Peachtree Road or Peachtree Battle, you will now see the structure coming together. The concrete slab on the ground floors is installed and crews are now working on the upper levels. Once complete, this will be the third school built on this same property.
Accomplishments this spring include:
• Continued Structural Steel Erection, included Roof Decking
• Completed Rough-In for Classroom Mock-Up
• Continued Lower & Main Level Framing
• Began Upper Level Framing Layout
• Completion of Retaining Walls D & E
• Continued Lower Level CMU Installation
• Above Ceiling MEP on Lower Level
Upcoming items:
• Structural Steel erection, including roof decking & stairs
• Mezzanine slab pours
• Continue lower level CMU masonry
• Cold-formed steel framing Lower, Main, Upper Levels
• Continue Structeavent installation
• Overhead MEP at Lower & Main Level
E. Rivers is one of the oldest public schools in the city of Atlanta. The school was originally named Peachtree Heights and was built in 1917 on land donated by Atlanta developer Eretus Rivers. In honor of Mr. River’s service to the community and Board of Education the school was renamed E. Rivers Elementary School in 1926. Because of the school’s strong historic background, there are plans to salvage and implement notable memorabilia into the new design. Construction Superintendent Arthur Cofelice said that his team is working with the architect to relocate all of the monuments, plaques, a memorial tree and the original E. Rivers Lion into the new school.
Sitting on the corner of a busy intersection, traffic and safety has played an essential role in designing the new school. “We’ve got a lot of buses and cars to get on the site and we always like to separate the car traffic and the bus traffic for safety,” said Atlanta Public School’s Director of Capital Improvement, Jere Smith. He added that they were able to add a bus drop off and a car pool lane with a cuing area on opposite sides of the building in order to get the cars off of Peachtree Battle as much as possible.
At approximately 112,000 square feet, the new E. Rivers will be larger than the previous construction and built to provide more usable space for students and staff. “We based this project on projections which are looking to increase over the next few years,” said Atlanta Public School’s Project Manager Danny Gutlay. “Currently the school has about 700 students. The new school will allow capacity for 900 students.”
Th new build will not only be safer and more spacious but will enhance the learning environment by providing an outdoor learning lab as well as better acoustics. “In the interior we are enhancing the acoustics so that the kids can hear better. If they can hear better they can learn better and the teachers won’t have to fight over internal noise or external noise,” said Collins Cooper Carusi architect Margarita Perez. “The outdoor learning lab is a space that we created to provide an environment that can be used for science, art and any other programs where nature will play a part in the students learning.”
The project is slated for completion in its entirety by December of this year, with the doors opening for students in January of 2015.
Some 80 members of Morris Brandon Elementary‘s First Grade Choir filled the new auditorium with song on Thursday, bringing music to the ears of those assembled to celebrate the opening of the new Primary Center that will serve kindergartenders and first-graders. The choir performed under the guidance of music teacher Gail Oden, and was just one highlight of a morning that capped off the honoring of five new buildings or renovations in two months around APS. Now that’s something to sing about.