Worcester, Mass., is the birthplace of vocational education, beginning with the pioneering efforts of Milton P. Higgins, who opened the Worcester Trade School in 1908. The school's original facility served this central Massachusetts community for nearly 100 years until its state-of-the-art replacement opened in 2006 as the 1,500-student Worcester Technical High School.
Getting the new 400,000-sf school opened, however, once again required pioneering efforts that earned this project and its Building Team a Special Recognition Award for overcoming significant challenges, including an environmentally sensitive site, tight funding, and labor union issues.
The school's 21-acre site in the city's Green Hill Park included wetlands with vernal pools, a 16-acre landfill, and a two-year legal dispute with neighbors over environmental and parkland issues. A formal partnering charter ultimately allayed neighborhood and environmental concerns. The school was repositioned on the site, and improvements were made to the wetlands and vernal pools, which now serve as leaning labs for the school's Environmental Technology program. The landfill was capped and converted for use as the school's athletic fields.
Funding was one of the project's biggest obstacles. To offset the school's approximately $90 million total cost (construction costs: $68 million; equipment: $22 million), the school's advisory board created “entrustment” programs, which involved partnerships with businesses, manufacturers, and major suppliers—notably Dell Computers, Cisco Systems, Toyota, and Redken 5th Avenue—to provide equipment and industry expertise in return for the school's exclusive use of their products.
Labor union issues were resolved through a deal brokered by the city's mayor and Consigli Construction (general contractor in a joint venture with O'Connor Constructors) that allowed non-union trades to bid the project. Originally, only union trades were allowed to bid, but that prevented the school's alumni who weren't union members or employees of union signatory firms from submitting bids. Trades winning their bids served as mentors to the school's current students, who gained valuable hands-on experience by helping complete their new school two months early and on budget.
|
Related Stories
Higher Education | Oct 26, 2017
Where campus meets corporate design
A building is much more than its appearance; it’s how the user will behave inside of it that determines its adaptability.
Giants 400 | Oct 9, 2017
Job-ready learning: The newest K-12 schools nudge students toward careers
Some long-term K-12 trends—like beefing up safety and security, and designing for more natural light and outdoor learning space—are still in vogue.
Giants 400 | Oct 9, 2017
Top 80 K-12 construction firms
Gilbane Building Co., Balfour Beatty US, and Skanska USA top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest K-12 sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2017
Top 40 K-12 engineering firms
AECOM, IMEG/KJWW/TTG, and STV top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest K-12 sector engineering and EA firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2017
Top 90 K-12 architecture firms
Stantec, DLR Group, and PBK top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest K-12 sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Education Facilities | Oct 3, 2017
The growing demand for early childhood education
When the design of early learning centers is grounded in the science of developmental psychology and education, these educational environments can address multiple domains of development that positively stimulate young children's physical and cognitive growth.
K-12 Schools | Oct 2, 2017
A Houston office park gets a new life as a private day school
Shepley Bulfinch designed the 75,000-sf campus.
K-12 Schools | Sep 20, 2017
Activating innovation: Trends in K-12 education
School structures offer a unique opportunity as they can often double as community centers and serve as shelters in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.
Architects | Sep 19, 2017
What we talk about when we talk about placemaking
What does Good Growth mean and how do we set about achieving it?
K-12 Schools | Sep 12, 2017
Perkins Eastman publishes findings on high-performance schools
Metrics suggest correlation between key design strategies and occupant satisfaction and building performance.
