Sherman Elementary School
Additional Info
Award Winner : M Space Holdings LLC
Architectural Excellence : M Space worked closely with the school district to design and construct a permanent, noncombustible building that would match the existing school. It consists of six classrooms and two multi-stall restrooms. The building sits on a full perimeter concrete foundation with a brick ledge and intermittent piers. The full brick exterior was carefully selected to match the existing school. Concrete ramps/stairs with galvanized metal railings were installed at both entrances to make the building easily accessible.
Aluminum canopies connect the building to the existing school. Interior finishes include VCG walls in the classrooms/corridors, and ceramic tile walls and floors in the restrooms. The district uses a specific pattern for the tile in all schools, and M Space was able to match it exactly. The roof has a ½” slope and required a 20 year warranty from the manufacturer and installer. Special roof-mounted HVAC equipment with seismic curbs was used to comply with the ANSI standard.
Cost Energy Effectiveness : The district was in need of classroom space before the start of the 2009 school year. Since time was critical, modular was chosen to ensure that the buildings would be ready for occupancy in Sept. Having a modular building constructed quickly eliminated the need to lease additional space and bus children to remote locations, resulting in a significant cost savings. Other features include 1) The masonry exterior serves as a thermal mass and delays the outside temperature from entering the classroom, 2) Indirect, energy star fluorescent lighting fixtures were used, 3) Classrooms have their own HVAC unit and thermostat. Each is regulated separately to conserve energy, 4) The roof was designed to help prevent roof leaks, and the roof was warranted for 20 years (a future savings for the owner), and 5) Temperature controlled louvers open/close automatically with temperature change to prevent cold air from entering the crawl space in the winter, and allow proper ventilation in the summer.
Design Firm Name : Phillip H. Cerrone III, Architect
Occupied Date : 8/26/2009
Production Start Date : 3/23/2009
Project Location City : Fairfield
Project Location State Name : CT
Technical Innovation : ANSI 12.60 is an acoustics code adopted in CT for all classrooms receiving public funds. This code requires no greater than 35db of sound in the interior of the classroom within a 24-hour period during operation. M Space engaged an acoustical engineer and worked with the engineer during the design phase. Various scenarios were considered before a formal construction design was selected. Over 10 pages of calculations were generated to ensure that the materials and construction selected met the stringent code.
To achieve this demanding requirement, special construction was used for the walls, ceilings, doors, windows and HVAC units. The interior suspended ceiling absorbs sound and the windows are aluminum hopper with insulated tempered glass. The doors are steel with clear tempered glass panels in the classrooms, which meet the specific STC rating in order to comply with the ANSI standard. The exterior double doors have tempered insulated glass on either side.
Total Square Feet : 6468