Key ingredients for a successful project

On May 28, the MSBA co-Sponsored this year’s annual seminar series titled the “Story of A Building”, which is conducted by Massachusetts Inspector General, Glenn A. Cunha.  The seminar “Sherwood Middle School – A Model for Building Success” highlighted the new Sherwood Middle School building project, which was designed by LPA, and it showcased the highly successful delivery method utilized by the project team. The goal of the program is to promote a system of best practices for future public building projects.

According to Barbara Hansberry, Deputy Executive Director of the MSBA, the Sherwood Middle School was selected due to it being “one of the first middle schools the MSBA funded and it was reputed to be a very well-run project”. After an initial meeting with representatives of MSBA and the Inspector General’s MCPPO program, Superintendent of Schools for Shrewsbury Public Schools, Joseph M. Sawyer, stated that “[MSBA] would like to feature Sherwood due to the success and innovative design of this project.”

The panel of professionals representing the Sherwood Middle School buildout included, LPA’s President, Mike Pagano, who represented LPA’s strategy for approaching the design of the new school. The panel discussion also shared insights from Walt Kincaid of Gilbane Building Company on the construction and from Chris Carroll and Tony Oliva of PMA Consultants on the project management approach, as well as the project team’s methods for effectively interacting with the school’s building committee members.

Project Details

The school project started with a thorough MSBA regulated study conducted by LPA that presented options on how to best to approach the school’s growing needs. Information provided options to perform an in-depth renovation and addition to the existing school or to construct an entirely new building. The replacement school option proved to be the most appropriate solution.

The $33.8M school was completed in 2013, six months ahead of schedule and over $3M below budget. Highlights of the new 130,000 square foot, 900 student school, feature a highly efficient exterior wall system and a low tech solar wall application that received a Massachusetts ‘High Performance Green School’ rating.

The project also received the following award honors: School Planning & Management Award for “Outstanding Architecture & Design in Education” and the Green Education Design Showcase 2013 winner of the “Judges Choice: Sustainability & Innovation” Award, as well as the Metal Construction Association “Chairman’s Award for Education”.