| August 27, 2010 Between November and May, the students met bimonthly with mentors in the architecture, construction and engineering professions to design a project from concept to completion. Students came from high schools throughout Philadelphia, including G.W. Carver High School, Friends' Central School, and Youth Build Charter High School. The program for the 200,000 sf mixed-use building includes bedroom suites, living areas, common space, support and service areas, and retail space. The students designed the building as a modified L-shape structure to maximize the amount of daylighting into the space and maintain the integrity of the site. The exterior building skin comprises a rain screen system that strategically uses durable tempered glass, transparent in public areas and fritted and dark monolithic glass in private spaces. Because of the site's busy surroundings, the students wanted to maintain a sense of privacy for the dormitory. The building provides a partial shield for the courtyard, which is primarily for student residents, while the retail space has high visibility on the street for public access. Light wells and a curved glass wall bring more daylight into the building. A patio and pergola are additional amenities to foster student community and engagement. As part of their final presentation, students had to deliver a site plan, floor plan, elevations, massing model, structural plans and model, a cost estimate, and schedule. They also presented before all participating teams, consultants, and ACE of Eastern PA representatives. Several students also won college scholarships including Team 6's very own Simone Partridge. Congratulations, Simone! |
| August 11, 2010 All that changed on the evening of Aug. 10. KSS/MGA faced Shiseido on Shiseido's home field. The team started their attack early, bombarding their opponent with seven runs in the first inning. Relentless defense held Shiseido to four scoreless innings. Critical plays and smart fielding minimized runs during the few innings Shiseido players got on base. Meanwhile, nine of KSS/MGA's 11 players scored runs and every player made it on base. As the sun blissfully set on the West Windsor landscape, KSS/MGA secured their first victory in two seasons, 14-10. The KSS/MGA softball team comprises a diverse blend of employees from KSS Architects and Michael Graves & Associates, two well-respected architectural and design firms in Princeton. Games occur every Tuesday from May to August at multiple fields in Mercer, Somerset and Middlesex counties. |
| August 6, 2010 The project stands out not only because of its timing, but also for its sustainability. With a target of LEED Silver certification, KSS worked closely with engineers and consultants to use sustainable construction materials and methods as well as energy efficient building systems. Empire also wanted the project to qualify for energy savings incentives offered by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and tax credits offered by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT). Through a story told in the Summer 2010 issue of NAIOP's Development magazine, KSS and BBL successfully completed the $27.5 million facility on schedule and on track to meet all goals. The building will achieve an estimated 34 percent improvement in energy performance over ASHRAE 90.1-2004. Through incentives and utilities savings, the additional investment Empire spent for increased energy performance will be effectively paid back at an astonishing time: less than two years. Download and read the article here. |
| July 14, 2010 Notes from the 2010 jury include, "Unique and dramatic spaces; creative use of materials and daylighting; high-performance, sustainable features." When complete in 2011, the new campus center, which is pursuing LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, will becoming an exciting and engaging destination for the entire campus community. Read more about the project here. |
| June 24, 2010 Our design considered the historical significance of the site, the need for an economically viable and reinvigorating project in the area, and the project's energy usage. Just south of the project site is Mill Hill Park, where American and British soldiers fought the first and second battles of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. The park is surrounded by unremarkable 10- to 12-story State office buildings to the north and west and the largely 19th-century Mill Hill National Historic District to the south. Gateways and a Welcoming Sign The design uses the existing brutalist concrete garage as an armature to hang a 4,000-square-feet LED sign to function simultaneously as an educational tool, historical marker, revenue generating entity, cultural amenity for art and theater events, outdoor movie theater and community billboard to welcome visitors into the historic core of Trenton, a 17th-century capital city. The design reconfigures the northwest entrance into Mill Hill Park as a pedestrian gateway into the downtown and into the park, which could be re-graded to accommodate amphitheater outdoor seating. The Park and Parking On the remainder of the parking garage's concrete shell, Mill Hill Park "extends" across Front Street onto the structure's facade in the form of a vertical garden. A red ribbon weaves around the building primary facades, morphing into different functions and uses, from a bus stop bench, roof canopy, retail signage, and a root base for a vertical garden. Activity Extension While the site is active on weekdays during commuting hours, it is virtually unused and empty on weekends and evenings. The proposals extends the hours of activity in and around the site. A flexible retail component with low overhead will encourage a variety of shop types and sizes to the downtown. Pedestrian Experience vs. a Sidewalk By extending the retail face south of the existing colonnade and reorganizing the main entry into the parking garage, the design increases the retail component from roughly 10,000 sf to 15,000 sf. Energy-Neutral Design The design proposes a solar array that takes advantage of the existing structure's East-West orientation and contributes toward an energy-neutral design solution for the project. KSS Architects estimates that the net profit from the array would be roughly half the total cost of construction for the entire project over a period of 25 years. KSS' design team comprises Steve Doyle, AIA, LEED AP, intern architects Katherine Heck, Danielle Matuch and Alicia Weaver, and partner Allan Kehrt, FAIA, LEED AP. |
| June 22, 2010 Each year, ICREW collects goods at one of its monthly meetings to donate to Operation Shoebox. The group wanted to further its commitment by volunteering man-hours at the Patriots game. Despite the Patriots' 8-4 loss to the Long Island Ducks, the volunteers had a blast meeting and serving fans. |
| June 11, 2010 The renowned Swiss architectural hardware designer and manufacturer Hawa AG made the 50-ft sliding glass door and wall system that includes curved 5-ft and 10-ft wide glass doors that slide into a fixed curved wall. The impressive system is now part of Hawa's online portfolio that showcases their products. Hawa's clean and quality hardware appears around the world and we are delighted our project is featured on their Web site. |
