The Future is Now

Philly school district and Microsoft team to reinvent high schools

By Hal Cohen

When the School District of Philadelphia and software giant Microsoft partnered to create "The School of the Future," expectations might have been for a top-dollar facility. But while the design is forward-looking, this 168,000-sq.-ft. project is staying within a traditional budget.

The 800-student, 168,000-sq.-ft. School of the Future was designed as a prototype that is aesthetically pleasing, technologically advanced, environmentally friendly and can be replicated throughout the world on a traditional budget.

These days, as public schools stretch their budgets to meet the demand for new high schools, architectural aesthetics are often shelved for cost-efficient, cookie-cutter designs.

Not so in Philadelphia, where the School District of Philadelphia hopes to prove that innovative design and economic viability don't have to be mutually exclusive.

The school district partnered with software giant Microsoft on a project with enough innovative ideas to fill a textbook. Dubbed "The School of the Future," the project seeks to design and build a prototype school that is aesthetically pleasing, technologically advanced, environmentally friendly and can be replicated throughout the world on a traditional budget.

The concept was proposed by Paul Vallas, the district's chief executive officer, in September 2003 during a routine meeting with the Microsoft team that handles SDP's technology account. Microsoft signed on two weeks later and in February ground was broken on what will be an 800-student, 168,000-sq.-ft. school on seven acres in West Philadelphia's Fairmount Park section.

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Microsoft's main contribution is in human capital and sound organizational practices, said Mary Cullinane, Microsoft's project manager.

"One of our primary objectives is to prove that schools like this can be scaled and replicated anywhere in the world," she added. "We want people to see this and say, 'I can do this too.'"

The school will be fully equipped with wireless and mobile technology, but the gadgets won't break the bank. Microsoft has been lending its organizational philosophy on how to make the most of the $46 million budget with pointers ranging from the purchase of construction materials to the hiring of staff.

As the industry faces dramatic price escalations in construction materials, ensuring the project stays within the budget is tantamount, Cullinane said.

And because the school is scheduled to open next fall, construction crews face an 18-month construction period.

The site, which drops off 16 ft. vertically over 160 ft. horizontally, is a perfect fit for creating an auditorium with seating that declines toward the stage.

"Every phase from the preparation and execution of the legal agreements for use of the property, to the foundations, to the dealing with six prime contractors has been a challenge in itself," said project executive Bill Carter of Philadelphia-based Gilbane Building Co., which along with Felder & Felder Construction of Philadelphia is the project's construction manager.

"The excitement and energy associated with a project is helping to offset that."

Site design and logistics remain sensitive to the environment surrounding the site, including Fairmount Park, the Philadelphia Zoo, residential neighborhoods and wetland areas. Existing trees were surveyed and marked to clearly delineate which would be removed.

All disturbed areas will be restored to their original condition. Most of the building components will be erected onsite.

Access to and from the site is restricted, and storage and laydown areas have been reviewed and approved in advance. Even the school's exterior will remain consistent with other neighboring structures, featuring white masonry with rock-faced and polished textures.

In midsummer, the 40-person construction crew was completing installation of underground utilities and preparing to pour slabs. Mike Marshall, project manager at Gilbane Co., forecasted a tenfold increase in labor toward the end of the year when the push for completion commences.

The school features five levels, with the performing arts center occupying the lowest one. As in a traditional auditorium, the seating declines toward the stage, making the structure a perfect fit for a tract of graded land on a site that drops off 16 ft. vertically over 160 ft. horizontally.

The exterior includes curvo-linear features, metal paneling, a concrete retaining wall and simple spread footings. Like the rest of the school, the center is supported by a concrete superstructure and metal stud back-up system.

The performing arts center showcases some of the more progressive flourishes that lead architect Scott Prisco of the Pisco Group of Hopewell, N.J., incorporated into the school's design.

"The auditorium is usually the most expensive square footage," Prisco said. "It tends to requires unique construction and is used much more infrequently than classroom space. We wanted to make this the most used room in the building from an educational and community point of view."

Toward the back of the 500-seat, 8,500-sq.-ft. performing arts center, the sides are outfitted with hydraulics that permit portions of the room to rotate and form large teaching areas that seat about 100 people.

The center is located adjacent to the zoo's overflow parking lot and segmented off from the rest of the school, which should make it more accessible to students and the community, Prisco said.

The school's main corridor sits one floor above the performing arts center and connects the center to several major spaces.

Starting at the school's entrance - where a plasma screen television lists daily activities - the hallway serves as the school's spinal cord and connects the gymnasium, library and administrative office. The tile-finished hallway, nicknamed "Main Street," features skylights with translucent panels and is lined with clear, glass panels that provide full visibility into the main hallway from adjacent rooms.

Site design and logistics remain sensitive to the environment surrounding the site, including Fairmount Park, the Philadelphia Zoo, and residential neighborhoods.

The corridor also has small seating areas spread throughout to provide student interaction. "Think Barnes & Noble," Prisco said.

Above Main Street, ground-faced block stairwells lead to two floors of classrooms, several featuring folding walls that can expand the rooms up to double their original size.

The 9,000-sq.-ft. gymnasium and food-court-like cafeteria provide new spins on the usual scholastic affectations, while the outdoor amphitheater and a media-rich visitor's center lend an air of novelty.

Not easy being green

A driving force in the design and construction of the school has been the mission to attain gold LEED certification. "Paul (Vallas) has made it very clear that he wants to move the school district into the future," said SPD's project executive Joe Joseph. "Pursuing LEED certification definitely marks a change in our philosophy with how we look at buildings."

The pursuit of LEED certification accounts for the atypical utility designs. The school will have a water catchment system on the roof, where rainwater will be collected in a cistern, filtered and used for nonpotable applications such as toilet water and water for the boilers. The auditorium's roof will be covered with vegetation to shield it from ultraviolet rays, both extending its lifetime and insulating the building.

Photovoltaic panels in the glass windows and roof will also reduce heating and cooling by converting sunlight into a direct current, contributing a small percentage of the electricity for the building. An ice-storage system that makes ice during off-peak hours will be used to cool the building.

Construction materials are being purchased within a 500-mi. radius to support the regional economy and reduce the environmental impacts resulting from the materials' transportation.

"We aren't necessarily looking for the best deal," Gilbane's Marshall said. "Right now some of our costs have increased, but from a cost and energy analysis, we expect them to be recouped over the life of the building,"

For a project involving a technology kingpin like Microsoft, the IT architecture will be among the project's last phases. "We want to hold off on installing technology for as long as we can," Joseph said. "If there's any advancement in technology for education, we want to be able to use it."

Key Players:

Owner: School District of Philadelphia
Architect: The Prisco Group, Hopewell, N.J.
Construction Managers: Gilbane Building Co., Philadelphia; Felder & Felder Construction, Philadelphia
General Contractor: Daniel J. Keating Co., Narberth, Pa.
Electrical: Schiller and Hersh Associates Inc., Oreland, Pa.
HVAC: The Prisco Group
Plumbing: Royal Mechanical Inc., Folcroft, Pa.
Fire protection: Oliver Sprinkler Co. Inc., King of Prussia, Pa.
Civil Engineer: CSA Group, Philadelphia
Landscaping: Pennoni Associates, Philadelphia