The BelovED Community Charter School’s Middle School building recently had its topping out celebration at its half-acre parcel of land located at 535 Grand Street in Jersey City, N.J.
The 53,000-sf building will make use of its small site and include 18 general classrooms and a variety common spaces for both students and staff. Outside the building, a parking lot with space for 29 cars and outdoor assembly/recreation space will also be included.
The building’s ground floor will include the parking lot and an entrance lobby with an elevator and a security desk. A loading dock with a 20-foot-wide overhead coiling gate will also be included on the ground floor. The second floor will cantilever over the parking lot and house a 3,600-sf cafetorium and kitchen, an office suite, a nurse’s office, classrooms, and two sets of double stairs in addition to the elevator. The third floor will include additional classrooms, a 750-sf multi-purpose room, a gymnasium, an art classroom, locker rooms, and a main distribution frame room. The fourth and final floor will house a 750-sf music room with a stepped stage for rehearsals and performances, more classrooms, a special education classroom, and a teacher’s lounge/break room.
Courtesy Urbahn Architects.
Due to the site’s low-bearing soil, Hollister Construction Services installed 150 concrete-filled, 100-foot-deep steel piles with pile caps and piers to support the foundation system of concrete grade beams and the building’s structural steel frame with lightweight concrete on galvanized composite metal deck. The building’s façade will feature Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS), a non-load bearing, exterior wall cladding on steel studs, with Batt insulation. Energy efficiency will be also improved by thermally- proficient low emissivity (or low-e) windows with high visible transmittance (VT) properties that will allow increased amounts of natural light into the school’s interiors.
The new school building, which will serve grades six to nine, will open in the second half of 2019 as it welcomes its first 360 students.
Related Stories
| Jan 17, 2014
The Starchitect of Oz: New Gehry building in Sydney celebrates topping out
The Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building at the University of Technology, Sydney, will mark Frank Gehry's debut project in the Australian metro.
| Jan 15, 2014
Report: 32 U.S. buildings have been verified as net-zero energy performers
The New Buildings Institute's 2014 Getting to Zero Status report includes an interactive map detailing the net-zero energy buildings that have been verified by NBI.
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| 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.
