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William Hall High School, West Hartford, Connecticut.

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Title: William Hall High School, West Hartford, Connecticut.
Language: English
Authors: Kubany, Elizabeth Harrison
Source: Architectural Record. Feb 2001 189(2):142-144.
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 3
Publication Date: 2001
Document Type: Journal Articles
Descriptors: Educational Environment, Educational Facilities Design, Educational Facilities Improvement, High Schools, Public Schools, Student School Relationship
Geographic Terms: Connecticut
ISSN: 0003-858X
Abstract: Discusses how architects redesigned an old, dark, and brooding school building into a school whose architecture, and the physical environment it creates, play a positive role in student learning. Photos and a floorplan are included. (GR)
Entry Date: 2001
Accession Number: EJ623283
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0004136663;ARR01FEB.01;2001Dec31.16:02;v6.0.1</anid> <title id="AN0004136663-1">WILLIAM HALL HIGH SCHOOL </title> <sbt id="AN0004136663-2">3 HERBERT S. NEWMAN AND PARTNERS' ADDITION AND RENOVATION HEALS ARCHITECTURAL WOUNDS FROM A PREVIOUS ERA.</sbt> <p>West Hartford, Connecticut </p> <hd id="AN0004136663-3"> Program </hd> <p>Brutalism was the style of choice for institutional buildings in 1970, when William H. Hall High School in West Hartford, Conn., opened its doors. Like other buildings of this period, Hall High had elevations with small windows (to cut energy costs) and deep floor plates with large areas far from daylight and natural ventilation. In its banality and coldness, the school sent a negative message about the experience of learning. </p> <p>So when West Hartford's Department of Community Services hired Herbert S. Newman and Partners to renovate Hall High, it asked the architects to change the dark and brooding building into a different kind of place. With enrollment projected to grow from 1,200 to 1,500 students and changes in curriculum planned, the existing 250,000-square-foot building needed to expand as well. </p> <p>Herbert S. Newman, FAIA, says the project's goal was “a transformation that would give the students a sense that the town cared for them. The clients wanted to demonstrate that a school building can be architecture and that architecture and the physical environment can play a role in helping one learn.” </p> <hd id="AN0004136663-4"> Design solution </hd> <p>The architects located the project's 20,000-square-foot, three-story addition on the northeastern corner of the existing building, where it would front the main access road to the school. Although not at the school's main entrance, the addition has a high public profile. “By making the addition clearly visible to everyone who enters the site, we tried to create the sense that something new and exciting is happening at the school,” explains Newman. </p> <p>With its curved form and looming stair tower, the addition acts as a foil to the horizontal mass of the old building. The curved stair tower rises eight feet above the rest of the addition and the existing building to mask a tangle of mechanical equipment on the roof. At night, when it is lit, the tower's lead-coated copper lantern acts as a beacon. </p> <p>In contrast to the almostwindowless existing building, glazing is generous on the addition's northern elevation and, to a lesser extent, on its eastern facade. The architects designed the bright, airy spaces here as art studios, general classrooms, and science laboratories. </p> <p>Providing more daylight was a driving force behind the reorganization and renovation of the existing building. (Budget constraints limited renovations to just portions of the old building.) At strategic locations the architects punched new window openings into the old building and moved offices and teaching areas into these spaces. They also shifted pupil services and guidance areas from dark areas of the building to redesigned spaces in prime locations. The library, which had been difficult to access from parts of the building, also got extra space and a more prominent entrance. </p> <p>For the addition, the architects specified materials that were compatible with, but not identical to, those in the existing building. For example, rather than the terra-cotta brick of the 1970s buildings, the architects used an aubergine-colored brick veneer with horizontal lines of terra-cotta running through it. Since the bricks are glazed, they shimmer like the building's lead-coated copper-roof copings. The whole simultaneously complements and defies the monotonous expanse of the old Brutalist structure. </p> <hd id="AN0004136663-5"> Educational approach </hd> <p>Although the primary purpose of the new building is to provide needed extra space, it also accommodates one curriculum change—the creation of discipline-based resource rooms where students go to study a particular subject and work closely with faculty who teach this subject. </p> <hd id="AN0004136663-6"> Commentary </hd> <p>Unlike the 1970s Brutalist building, which sent a negative message, Newman and Partners' addition does the opposite. As project manager Richard Munday, AIA, explains, “In creating spaces of varying architectural character and in assembling normal building materials in a way that is different from what the students are used to, we've tried to create a building that teaches kids about a larger culture and greater possibilities in the world.” </p> <p> <bold> Project: </bold> William H. Hall High School addition and renovation West Hartford, Conn. </p> <p> <bold> Client: </bold> Department of Community Services, Town of West Hartford </p> <p> <bold> Architect: </bold> Herbert S. Newman and Partners—Herbert S. Newman, FAIA, Richard Munday, AIA, James Reilly, Mai Wu, Stephen Weeks, AIA, Joseph Huether, AIA, Carl Wies, AIA, Rupinder Singh, Nancy Restivo, Joseph Ferucci, Lindsay Suter, AIA, Joseph Rufrano, Jeffry Boyd, Gwen Emery, George Barnes, project team </p> <p> <bold> Engineers: </bold> Van Zelm Heywood and Shadford (M/E/P); Barnhart, Johnson, Francis and Wild (structural) </p> <p> <bold> Consultants: </bold> Carl Rosenberg (acoustical); Strong Cohen Graphic Designers (signage) </p> <p> <bold> Size: </bold> 20,000 square feet (new); 250,000 square feet (renovated); 1,500 students </p> <hd id="AN0004136663-7"> Sources </hd> <p> <bold> Curtain wall: </bold> Vistawall </p> <p> <bold> Acoustical ceilings: </bold> Armstrong </p> <p> <bold> Cabinetwork: </bold> Conco Woodworking </p> <p> <bold> Carpeting: </bold> Karastan </p> <p> <bold> Downlights: </bold> Lightolier </p> <hd id="AN0004136663-8"> www </hd> <p> <bold> For additional school projects </bold> and more information on the people and products involved in this project, go to Building Types at <ulink href="http://www.architecturecord.com">www.architecturecord.com</ulink></p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): Spaces in the new building include art studios, general classrooms, and state-of-the-art science laboratories such as the one below. </p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): While the existing building(left in photo left) kept windows small to reduce energy costs, the new 20,000-square-foot addition features generous glazing to enliven learning spaces. A curved stair tower (opposite) adds a vertical element to the strongly horizontal composition. </p> <p>PHOTO (COLOR): All of the classrooms and spaces in the addition enjoy plenty of daylight and views. In renovating the old building, the architects tried to bring sunlight into spaces that had once been dreary. </p> <aug> <p>By Elizabeth Harrison Kubany </p> </aug>
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