Board of Education selects third rated architect to design new high school

[dkemom2]

yeh, I see your point.

But just for the sake of the perfect comparison, let's say it's him....until some other evidence to prove otherwise is revealed.
 

[thinkinboudit]

What a series of nonsense!  It looks like the Innovative firm was invited back for a second interview while the rest of the top three weren't.  Isn't that some sort of error in itself or at least gave Innovative an advantage.  It looks like Innovative was given a leg up and still it didn't meet the standard set up by the school board members.

There are other reasons to accept or deny a building contract other than cheapest price.  It looks like there are some sour grapes here by either the architect or by the member of the board who was pushing it.  That's the question I have.  Why was the chairwoman of the board trying so hard to get Innovative on the contract?

[Chathamwolf]

The Chairwoman pushing for Innovative would, in my opinion be IDs green practices. As has become the rage here in Chatham and around the country we can overdo green. CRZ is more than qualified and experienced, even in all this green gobbledygook. Glad they got the contract. They will be hands on throughout the build.

[Gene Galin]

I learned about the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program when I worked on one of the project teams for the  French Family Science building at Duke.

LEED certification standards are environmentally friendly and with today’s high fuel costs they make school buildings more energy efficient and save money in the long run.

The 280,000-square-foot French Family Science Center (FFSC) on West Campus won its Silver LEED certification in October. Where possible, FFSC was built with recycled and sustainable building materials. Its roof includes 15,000 square feet of sod to filter rainwater and cool the building, and its restrooms feature waterless urinals, low-flush toilets and sinks that use half the normal amount of water.

The new Woods Charter School building is built to meet LEED standards.

School buildings that incorporate LEED standards have lower operating costs, reduce waste sent to landfills, conserve energy and water, and are healthier and safer for occupants.

Please note that while it makes ecological and economical sense to build with LEED standards in mind, trying to incorporate ALL of the standards needed for the HIGHEST level certification can be cost prohibitive. If you go to the LEED web site you can find an array of the possible standards available.

[flintobrien]

Just saw this. I post as flintobrien. GoodSchoolz posts on GoodSchoolz.org.
GoodSchoolz was not at the meeting discussing the high school architects.

Regards,
Flint O'Brien
GoodSchoolz.org
flintobrien.com

[Kathie]

Innovative was not invited back for a second interview.  They were invited back to clarify a couple of points that we were unsure about.

Yes, I argued for them because I thought they were clearly heads above the best choice.  The main reason is that they stated that they - consistently - bring schools in well under budget and without cutting amenities, and their schools are innovative and win national awards for best schools (for green practices and other things).  I really felt that if we selected them, we would get an amazing school and it would probably win an award.  Not that it is necessary to have your schools win awards - but I just thought it would be a really nice thing and a real morale booster and source of pride for Chatham County.  (Of course, if your school is winning awards then it also means it's a really good school).  I also thought that they would really go to bat for us and try to make this high school a point of pride for them as well, since it would be their first high school project in N.C.  (But I understand the point that this also could work against them as the choice, as it was argued that not having built a high school in NC could be a negative as far as experience).  In my opinion, this firm was the leader and innovator and would give us the best product for the best price.

However, not everyone shared this opinion.  We are a board of five and I am only one vote.  Therefore, since the majority felt that another firm was better, I respect this decision.  I certainly don't know everything and if the majority vote was for a different firm then I support that fully.  I advocated for my opinion as strongly as I could and so did others.  We all did this because we care and want to have the best school possible. All of the points were valid.  It's the way the process is supposed to work and the way it did work and the decision that was made is the best for our county.  I do have complete faith in that.

CR&Z is a great firm and a real bonus for us is that they are using the services of Alicia Ravetto, a local architect.  We are very lucky to have Alicia on board with this project.  In fact, she once worked for ID, so we will get the benefit of that experience as well.  Alicia will bring all her great talents to bear for our new school and CR&Z will give us a great building.

[Gene Galin]

Kathie -

Thanks so much for providing the extra information.

I know that there are many that are appreciative of knowing the new tidbits of information.

We're all excited about having a couple of brand new schools in this area. Perry Harrison School was built about 10 years ago.

BTW, I like the two story arrangement of Virginia Cross. Had an opportunity to see that building a little when I was over for the school board meeting on Monday.

Gene

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