GOLD MEDAL AWARD WINNER
The Building of America
Kappen Aquatic Center at the Overbrook School for the Blind www.constructionreviews.com
Facts & Figures Owner: Overbrook School for the Blind Type of Project: A new aquatic facility Size: 23,800 square feet Cost: $11 million Construction Time: September 2007 - December 2008 The Need: New swimming pools to replace a 100-year-old pool The Challenge: Designing an aquatic facility for blind and visually impaired persons
Gold Medal Award-winning Team Members Daley + Jalboot Architects Architect W.S. Cumby, Inc. Construction Manager Main Line Commercial Pools, Inc. Pool Design & Construction Manning Materials Corp. Supplier of Insulated Concrete Forms
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Kappen Aquatic Center at the Overbrook School for the Blind
The Kappen Aquatic Center,
its useful life due to the harsh envi-
accessible to those with mobility
located on the Overbrook School for
ronment and chemicals of its 100-
challenges. In replacing the pool,
the Blind’s campus in Philadelphia,
year-old swimming pool.
the school’s administration real-
was built in order to replace an
Used almost exclusively by the
ized that many more students
existing building that had surpassed
swim team, the old pool was not
would benefit through expanding
tri-state new york/philadelphia edition
gold medal award winner
Photo courtesy of C. Tom Crame Photography
the swim program to also include
The building, which was sited to
our ability to provide the owner
natatorium, including three locker
therapy
create a courtyard/outdoor room
with design and construction capa-
rooms, mechanical space, a flexible
and general recreation. Additionally,
that houses a play yard and recre-
bilities that met the overall project
room for various small events and
the Overbrook School for the
ation equipment, features a large
budget,” said Gavin Grimes, vice
lobby/circulation space.
Blind had a strong desire to
natatorium space with two pools
president of Main Line Commercial
“This facility is unique in that
make the project environmentally
of water — a recreational pool with
Pools. The competition pool is used
the vast majority of the users are
responsible and was determined
a designated therapy area and a
for instruction, training and swim
physically disabled,” said Amie L.
to obtain Leadership in Energy
separate six-lane, 25-yard competi-
meets. The recreational/therapy
Leighton, AIA, LEED AP, associate
and Environmental Design (LEED®)
tion swimming pool. “Main Line
pool is used on a daily basis for all
for Daley + Jalboot Architects, the
gold certification. In the end, the
Commercial Pools, Inc. was awarded
types of physical therapy and hydro-
project’s architect. “This created
project was awarded LEED -NC plat-
the contract for swimming pool con-
therapy. Additionally, there are sup-
challenges in terms of creating clear
inum certification.
struction for this project based on
port spaces that wrap around the
and direct circulation to and within
programs
for
physical
®
continued on page 7
gold medal award winner
tri-state new york/philadelphia edition
The Owner’s Perspective with Joe Van Bernum, Business Manager and CFO, Overbrook School for the Blind Q: How did the strengths of the project team contribute to the success of the project? JV: There are two “teams” vital to this project. A “concept team” made up of school staff representing a broad range of interests provided extensive requirements for the center to serve our students ages three to 21, the babies birth to three years from our early intervention outreach program, parents, alums, and the men and women in our adult program. This was an invaluable input for our architects. The project team [members] assembled to build the dream and make it an energy efficient and environmentally friendly facility have used each of their unique talents to bring the project to completion in spectacular fashion.
Q: Was there anything different than expected? JV: The logistics of constructing a building of this size in a limited space and connecting it to existing buildings were much more difficult than we envisioned.
Q: What advice would you offer another owner from the experiences gained from the project? JV: Allow plenty of time for all activities and do not try to “rush” the process. This is especially important in the early stages where requirements
Photo courtesy of Tower Press, Overbrook School for the Blind
are hashed out and visits to similar sites are made to tightly define what is needed. Also, leave a lot of time for approvals from regulatory bodies.
Q: What were the best lessons learned? JV: This was the first time we used a construction manager for a project, and the process and results were much improved over all of the other approaches used in the past.
6333 Malvern Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19151 215-877-0313 www.obs.org
The Architect’s Perspective with with Amie L. Leighton, AIA, LEED AP, Associate, Daley + Jalboot Architects Q: What were some of the drivers behind the design? What design materials or concepts were used? AL: The building forms and exterior material choices were driven by a desire to make a new contemporary building fit into a tight corner site on the existing historic campus. The location is adjacent to the large main building, which is built in a Spanish mission style with yellow stucco [and] red clay tile roofs with a large dome, and two other more modern brick buildings. Our intention was to maintain the integrity of the main building by not mimicking those materials. Instead we chose to more closely relate to the modern brick buildings. The large volume of the natatorium relates in form and materials to the adjacent brick, and the lower volume of support spaces wraps this volume on two sides and is clad in cement board lap siding. Horizontal siding, like this, is typical in the community and reduces the scale of the building along the streets at the corner. The natatorium space was carefully oriented to maximize natural daylight into the pool spaces from the north. By doing so, we limited harsh daylight that would be troublesome to many of the visually impaired users and minimized glare on the water surfaces. Glare on the water surface reduces the ability to see below the surface to the bottom of the pools, creating a safety concern. The other primary factor affecting the design and construction methods for this project resulted from the green building initiatives. One example of this is the tight building envelope that was developed using insulated concrete forms (ICF). The result is super-insulated, poured-in-place concrete exterior walls that are extremely energy efficient. They perform better than tradition[al] frame or CMU backup walls because the mass helps to regulate and reduce thermal heat gain/loss, the rigid insulation on each side all but eliminates thermal bridging, and there is far less air infiltration, common in frame walls. Other green building features include minimizing the use of potable water, retaining storm runoff on site, utilizing highly efficient mechanical and lighting systems, choosing recycled and environmentally responsible materials throughout the facility, recycling construction waste, and avoiding solvent-based materials that can release toxic fumes over time creating an unhealthy interior environment.
Q: What were some of the lessons learned from this project? AL: One of the lessons that became very important was that material textures can be just as effective as a design tool as their color and scale. Utilizing the textures as a design feature has added another layer of richness to the overall design. Other lessons came from taking an uncommon building type and making it environmentally responsible within the strict format of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® certification process. This formal process has really emphasized to us how focusing on improving the energy efficiency of a building can have really dramatic effects on the long-term operating costs for buildings. For example, during this process, the owner had an energy model completed for this building. This computer model examines the proposed layout, structure and envelope along with the proposed mechanical and electrical systems to evaluate how it will compare to a “typical” building of that type with typical code-compliant systems. In our case, this energy model concluded that the owner will actually use about half the energy (48 percent) of a typical building of its type with basic code-compliant mechanical systems, and because of that we earned nine out of 10 LEED® points in energy efficiency. If this model is completed early enough in the design process, it can be especially useful to test potential modifications to the physical building or systems to maximize efficiency and, ultimately, the owner’s money.
Daley + JALBOOT A r c h i t e c t s 2314 Market St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-564-5222 www.daleyjalboot.com
continued from page 3
the building, the types of acces-
the project team utilized colors and
Adequate space had to be provid-
with instruction and ramp access.
sory spaces required, and the way
textures to help delineate paths and
ed in order to allow the blind users
The recreational/therapy pool is
in which the pools themselves were
place markers for students able to
and those accompanying them to
equipped with a beach entry to
designed.� Overall, the natatorium
navigate the building by themselves.
easily circulate around the deck and
accommodate all disabilities and age
space was carefully oriented to maxi-
Tactile brick pavers edge sidewalks
the pools. Additionally, the pools
groups, features a bubble couch for
mize natural daylight into the pool
to help the blind students feel the
had to be accessible for students
those students that require sensory
spaces from the north, thus limit-
edges and indicate turning points,
with multiple handicaps, including
stimulation, and includes a current
ing harsh daylight that would be
while brightly contrasting color
wheelchair-bound individuals and
channel so students can walk against
troublesome to many of the visually
bands at the edges of corridors help
those with sensory disorders. To that
the current or float in tubes for fun.
impaired users and minimizing glare
the partially sighted navigate the
end, the competition pool has a
Other primary factors that affect-
on the water surface. In addition,
interior corridors.
shallow portion in the center to help
ed the design and construction continued on page 10
Photo courtesy of C. Tom Crame Photography
gold medal award winner
tri-state new york/philadelphia edition
The Construction Manager’s Perspective with Dolly Hernandez, LEED AP, Project Manager, and Wayne Wilson, LEED AP, Project Superintendent, W.S. Cumby, Inc. Q: What is the most unique or important feature of the facility (or of the design/construction process)? DH & WW: The most unique feature is that there are two separate pools, which was a priority and very important to the owner, OSB. Two pools are being constructed for two different reasons 1) is a competition pool and 2) a recreation and therapy pool, which includes special features for the children used for physical rehabilitation.
Q: What is the most innovative aspect of the project (or of the design/construction process)? What could other owners learn from for their future projects? DH & WW: The most innovative aspect would be that the ICF (insulated concrete form) walls were constructed first, and then the pools were dug and poured inside of the walls. The design of the building in particular took into consideration their space available and incorporated the interior courtyard area into a playground area to contain children with sight deficiencies. A unique mechanical system was specified for the pool, which recycles all condensate for water conservation. There is also a UV filtration system in the pool for disinfection.
Q: How did you work with the architect and owner to save time and/or money on the project? How was value engineering applied to your responsibility? DH & WW: Strategically planned out the sequence of the construction to allow all the trades to perform their duties and keep the job on schedule and on budget. Constructed a model of the building to value engineer the operation of all associated MEP designed.
Q: What were some of the lessons learned from this project? DH & WW: Strategic planning was critical when designing and building a clear-span pool facility, utilizing ICF (insulated concrete form) as an exterior wall system. All of the engineers needed to work together from the beginning of design throughout the completion of construction of the project. Minor changes to one particular design may have had severe consequences to another aspect of the building. All changes in design needed to be coordinated with all parties involved.
938 Lincoln Ave. Springfield, PA 19064 610-328-5353 www.cumby.com
continued from page 7
methods for this project resulted
ing for Manning Materials Corp., is
result of utilizing ICF is that it pro-
tures, water-efficient landscaping,
from implementing green build-
that the walls do not allow air
vided extremely insulated poured-
highly efficient mechanical and light-
ing initiatives. One example is the
infiltration or exfiltration, therefore
in-place concrete exterior walls that
ing systems, recycled and environ-
tight building envelope that was
there will be no condensation at
are very energy efficient and per-
mentally responsible materials used
developed using insulated concrete
the dew point, thus eliminating
form better than traditional frame
throughout the facility, recycling the
forms (ICF) provided by Manning
mold growth within the wall assem-
or concrete masonry unit (CMU)
construction waste, and more. “We
Materials Corp. One benefit to
bly. Another added benefit is the
backup walls.
have documented 85 percent of the
using ICF, according to Matthew J.
high
class
Additional green features of the
personnel working on this project as
Thomas, vice president of market-
(STC) rating they provide. The
project included water-saving fix-
Green AdvantageŽ certified,� added
10
sound
tri-state new york/philadelphia edition
transmission
gold medal award winner
Dolly Hernandez, LEED AP, project
needs to be accomplished in order
the Blind. “A ‘concept team’ made
adult program. The project team
manager, and Wayne Wilson, LEED
for the green goals of the project to
up of school staff representing a
[members] assembled to build
AP, project superintendent for W.S.
be met.”
broad range of interests provided
the dream and make it an ener-
Cumby, Inc., the project’s construc-
Ultimately, the project was suc-
extensive requirements for the cen-
gy-efficient and environmentally
tion manager. “Green Advantage®-
cessfully completed in December
ter to serve our students ages three
friendly facility have used each
certified professionals are required
2008. “There are two ‘teams’ that
to 21, the babies from birth to three
of their unique talents to bring
to go through training and pass an
were vital to this project,” said Joe
years from our early intervention
the project to completion in spec-
exam, ensuring their clear commu-
Van Bernum, business manager and
outreach program, parents, alums,
tacular fashion.” n
nication and understanding of what
CFO for the Overbrook School for
and the men and women in our
— Stacey Nathanson
Photo courtesy of C. Tom Crame Photography
gold medal award winner
tri-state new york/philadelphia edition
11
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