Chester County Technical College West Bradford, Pennsylvania
Brian Zaleski Advisor: Rachel Schade
Repurpose Abandoned Site
• • • • • •
Location: 1818 Strasburg Road, West Bradford, PA Opened: 1938 Closed: 1980 Peak Population: 300 in 1947 Building Style: Cottage Plan Structures: 16 Buildings – 900,000 Sq. Ft. Site: 225 Acres
Centralized by four major cities. The site is located in Southern Chester County surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and small villages. With an uprise in neighboring communities, the site will have accessible public transportation and off-site parking with shuttle services.
Surrounding Site Context: Broad Run Golf Course ChesLen Preserve Stargazers Vineyard Embreeville Mill Potter’s Field Cemetery Bradywine Creek
Zoning:
IM – Institution/Mixed use
The existing main entrance to the site is off Strasburg Road. The local community has concerned that future development on the site will produce higher volume of traffic. To respond to that, the back entrance off Telegraph Road will be utilized as the main entrance for students.
Topography
One of the challenges of this site will be the elevation change. During design, the topography will drive the orientation of the structures and to work with the topography not against it. The slope of the site will bring great opportunities to design spaces to capture some of the beautiful views.
200 Foot (+/-)
SCHOOLS WITHIN 25 MILES
Proposed Site
2 Year College 9K – 12K
Currently, no technical colleges exist in Chester County. There is a 2-year community college, and a couple 4-year universities. Currently there is a high demand of jobs, including the trade. A technical college in Chester County will be a great addition.
4 Year College 14K – 19K
2 Year Tech College 7K
Lancaster, PA 1905 – 15 Students 1,300 – Currently PA #1 Technical School
99% Job Placement Growth – 3 New Sites
CASE STUDIES
As a alumni of Stevens College, I wanted to mirror some of the programs that are offered. Completion of Stevens will set you up for success in the work force or prepare you to continue education.
CASE STUDIES
This tech college has a similar program that will be introduce in the proposed CCTC. The highlighted building on this campus was a later addition to the campus. Now It is the heart of the campus that pulls everyone together. I will be doing the exact opposite with CCTC. I will be designing the main building (heart) first and as the school grows, buildings will be added to the site.
Gateway Community College Phoenix, Arizona SMITHGROUP JJR
BB House - Residential Bar Azul, Argentina BAK Architects
CASE STUDIES
The BB House is a residential house that was designed on a site similar to what I will be challenged with. This case study was interesting to see how the structure used the topography to their advantage. The building is partially set into the site. This helped create beautiful viewpoints in all spaces of the house.
The Berry College Mt. Berry, Georgia Harmony Timberworks
CASE STUDIES
This case study was about the heavy timber construction and tall open spaces. In the initial design phases, I wanted to implement this construction style and craftsmanship.
Design Process
DECEMBER 2020
FEBRUARY 2021
February 2021
In this phase of design, I started to really look at the topography and the program space that I needed. I wanted to have the lower level of the building recessed and work with the elevation change. I also wanted to create a breezeway or pathway through the building that would look out/frame the view.
March 2021 March 2021
With further development of the program space, the massing started to reduced. In this phase, the structure was starting to be studied. The initial idea was to have the glass cubes heavy timber construction and the rest concrete. With program space in mind, I wanted to make sure the orientation of the building would capture the views over the whole site.
April 2021 March 2021
In this phase, further development of the floor plans, façade material and openings. In addition, the landscape and outdoor circulation started to take place. The interior program space help drive these design decisions.
May 2021 March 2021
The final design. The heavy timber construction was used throughout the entire building. Stamped concrete building cores. The wood framed windows are recessed and operable. Landscape creates circulation around the building and water feature as well as walking trails through the woods.
Site Plan
Enlarged Site Plan
Level 1
Shops & Labs Lecture Hall Offices
Level 2
Admission & Financial Library Cafe
Level 2.1
Café Seating Classrooms Lecture Hall Outdoor Seating Library
Level 3
Classrooms
Conference Rooms Library Banquet Room Outdoor Seating
Level 4
Classrooms Offices Studio Rooms
Level 5
Studio Rooms
Section/Perspective
Structure
Conclusion
I enjoyed going through the design phases and the development of this project. I think it turned out how I envisioned. The spaces capture the beautiful views of the site. The structure and materials went through a lot of changes, but in the end, I think they works well with the building and site. Overall, I didn’t get too many negative comments. The interior space could have been more thoughtful. There is a lot of open wasted space. I agree, and if we had more time that would be the area of further development.