NEWTOWN, Conn. (Reuters) - When the children of Newtown, Connecticut, report to the new Sandy Hook Elementary School next month, they will enter a building carefully designed to protect them from the unthinkable.
The $50 million structure replaces the building that a deranged man entered on Dec. 14, 2012, and perpetrated one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
While the new school may never erase the pain of that day, officials believe its state-of-the-art safety features will keep the young students of this small Connecticut town safe from any threat.
“We wanted to create a space at the highest levels to honor every victim, every student, every family," said Newtown First Selectwoman Patricia Llodra during a media tour of the school on Friday.
The old school was demolished in 2013, a few months after the killings. Since then, students and faculty have used a vacant school in nearby Monroe while officials planned and built the 86,000-square-foot replacement with state aid.
The new facility, which will house more than 500 students from pre-K through fourth grade when it opens next month, will retain its predecessor's name.
The school's design was the result of dozens of meetings among Sandy Hook educators, families, community members, architects and builders. Among its special features is a memorial garden built on the site of the two classrooms where the most students and teachers died.
Photo: Michelle McLoughlin, Reuters
“Our job was to listen,” said Julia McFadden, Associate Principal of Svigals + Partners, lead architects on the project. “Items like the rain garden created a buffer zone to the school and was a safety feature. Safety features were integrated, but not bluntly obvious.”
School Superintendent Joseph Erardi, who joined the district in 2014, said some of the top school-safety experts in the country reviewed and approved the design.
While school officials declined to point out all of the safety features, some are obvious. Teachers can lock classroom doors and windows from the inside, and key cards are required at entrances and exits throughout the school. Video surveillance is a central part of the overall plan.
The school also integrates many naturalistic features, part of the design team's efforts to mitigate any fear or anxieties that may arise among teachers and students.
About 35 returning students were in kindergarten at the time of the shooting and are now returning as fourth graders.
For example, a wood facade was completed in uneven waves designed to replicate the hills of Newtown, some 70 hills north of New York City. Foot bridges crossing a stone brook and garden give access to each of the school's three entrances.
The main entrance leads to a courtyard where students and visitors can experience nature through tree-shape murals, expansive windows and two outdoor amphitheaters. Two interior tree-houses give students a natural respite.
Paintings created by students are part of the overall decorating scheme, including a mural in the school’s colors of green and white that reads “Be Kind.”
Photo: Michelle McLoughlin, Reuters
Photo: Michelle McLoughlin, Reuters
Photo: Michelle McLoughlin, Reuters.
Photo: Michelle McLoughlin, Reuters
Photo: Michelle McLoughlin, Reuters
(Editing by Frank McGurty and Leslie Adler)
Related Stories
| Jan 13, 2014
AEC professionals weigh in on school security
An exclusive survey reveals that Building Teams are doing their part to make the nation’s schools safer in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Jan 10, 2014
What the states should do to prevent more school shootings
To tell the truth, I didn’t want to write about the terrible events of December 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. I figured other media would provide ample coverage, and anything we did would look cheap or inappropriate. But two things turned me around.
| Jan 10, 2014
Special Report: K-12 school security in the wake of Sandy Hook
BD+C's exclusive five-part report on K-12 school security offers proven design advice, technology recommendations, and thoughtful commentary on how Building Teams can help school districts prevent, or at least mitigate, a Sandy Hook on their turf.
| Jan 9, 2014
How security in schools applies to other building types
Many of the principles and concepts described in our Special Report on K-12 security also apply to other building types and markets.
| Jan 9, 2014
16 recommendations on security technology to take to your K-12 clients
From facial recognition cameras to IP-based door hardware, here are key technology-related considerations you should discuss with your school district clients.
| Jan 9, 2014
Special report: Can design prevent another Sandy Hook?
Our experts say no, but it could save lives. In this report, they offer recommendations on security design you can bring to your K-12 clients to prevent, or at least mitigate, a Sandy Hook on their turf.
Smart Buildings | Jan 7, 2014
9 mega redevelopments poised to transform the urban landscape
Slowed by the recession—and often by protracted negotiations—some big redevelopment plans are now moving ahead. Here’s a sampling of nine major mixed-use projects throughout the country.
| Jan 6, 2014
What is value engineering?
If you had to define value engineering in a single word, you might boil it down to "efficiency." That would be one word, but it wouldn’t be accurate.
| Dec 17, 2013
Nation's largest net-zero K-12 school among winners of 2013 Best of Green Schools award
The Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, was named a winner of USGBC's annual award, along with nine other schools, individuals and communities working toward the common goal of healthy, high-performing learning places.
