Creating a Mini-UN

Contracting Method Accelerates and Streamlines the $100 Million Rte. 28

By Jim Parsons

Bell and Lincoln Multicultural Schools in Washington's Columbia Heights neighborhood have excelled in serving a highly diverse immigrant and minority population encompassing more than 30 nationalities. Lincoln Middle School's retention rate is well above the city's average, even though half of its largely low-income student population is proficient in English. Bell High School's 90-percent graduation rate ranks among DC's highest, with three-quarters of those students going on to college.

Lincoln Middle School was razed to make room for the new $53 million facility.

Equally remarkable is the fact that these achievements have come about in aging facilities beset with leaky roofs, asbestos-containing materials, ill-equipped science laboratories, limited recreation areas, poor space configurations, and virtually no computer infrastructure.

Those facility deficiencies will soon be a thing of the past thanks to the construction of a $53 million, 325,000 sq. ft. facility that unifies Bell and Lincoln's innovative multicultural education programs in a single 1,400-student complex appropriately designed around its own "mini-U.N."

Center of Attention Located on the site of the now-demolished Lincoln School, the new facility will house stateof-the-art classrooms, labs, and specialized learning areas in a four-story high school wing and a three-story middle school wing. An auditorium, food service/dining area, and gymnasium will form the school's axis and serve as a passive barrier between the two wings.

"The challenge here was to provide proper separation between the two schools' students while maximizing the benefits of shared structural and HVAC systems," said Bruce Mongrain, project manager for the Greenbelt, Md., office of Dallas-based SHW Group, which is designing Bell-Lincoln in partnership with KCI Technologies of Hunt Valley, Md. "Overhead coiling grills in the cross corridors provide an additional physical barrier between the two school wings. These grills are tied to the building fire alarm system, opening in case of emergency to make all exits available to students and staff."

Because the brick-clad building will take up most of its five-acre site, the design includes a 143-underground faculty/staff garage. Other features include vocational education spaces, performing arts rooms, and a daycare center that will allow teenage mothers to continue their education.

But it is the "mini-U.N." that truly symbolizes Bell-Lincoln's fundamental mission of diversity-based education. Incorporated into the 8,000-sq. ft. auditorium, the 1,800-sq. ft. meeting area is set on a 24-ft. dia. turntable. At the touch of a button, the 300-seat section can be rotated 180 degrees to form its own meeting space, allowing the remainder of the auditorium to be used for other activities.

"This feature unifies the school physically and spiritually," Mongrain said. "It is a testament not only to Bell-Lincoln's innovative curriculum, but also to the hope for multicultural dialogue and understanding."

The mini-U.N. was made possible in large part through the active involvement of parents and community whose intense lobbying made the new school a higher priority on the master plan for facilities improvements developed jointly by the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District. A $10 million fundraising campaign is underway to augment the project's funding sources.

"Bell-Lincoln enjoys many benefits not often found with school projects," said Corps Resident Engineer Bob Hill.

"While the Model UN makes the school a showpiece product, our primary goal is to create an attractive and functional building that supports a quality public education program."

Close Quarters Fitting these big ideas into the constrained urban site has already proven to be a complicated, yet not entirely unexpected process given the District's mélange of overlapping jurisdictions. For example, the project has required close coordination with groups as diverse as the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Park Service, which owns an adjacent parcel that serves as the headquarters of the DC Parks and Recreation Department.

And although the original notice to proceed with construction was issued in April 2003, Manhattan Construction Company had to wait five months due to last-minute raze permit approval issues. The permit issues were resolved in September, clearing the way for the razing of Lincoln Middle School and pile installation.

The delay afforded Manhattan time to consider the challenges of working in close proximity to neighborhoods and busy city streets. "And with Bell High School in session during part of the day, we'll have to constantly be alert to the students' safety," said Manhattan Division President John Barron.

Of particular concern is the aggressive schedule. Bell-Lincoln administrators are hopeful of having the entire facility ready in time for the start of the 2005-06 school year. "That's going to be very difficult, considering the delays we've experienced," admited Hill. "With all the set-up needs and commissioning requirements, it may well be well into 2006 before everything is ready. The contractor will try to meet the original deadline, but it's hard to predict what will happen two years down the road."

Barron agreed. "We've already encountered some very poor fill soil from the previous construction on the site," he said of what will likely be 71,000 cu. yds. of excavated material. "Though we've performed the requisite research on underground utilities, there's always the possibility of finding something that has not been documented. Once the subsurface work is complete, we'll have a better idea of what the actual schedule will be."

Despite the uncertainties and demanding schedule, Barron looks forward to the next two years. "There's an energy about this project that's very infectious," he said, adding that Manhattan will do its part by working with school officials on opportunities to make the construction site a classroom of sorts, and to hire supplemental labor from the community whenever possible. "The community is strongly behind this new school, particularly since the existing facilities were in such disrepair."

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