Construction is well underway for the new location of "I Love Sushi" in Huntsville/Madison, AL.
Panoramic View of Interior | Sushi Bar and Bar Area
You can learn more about this project on our website here.
Riverchase UMC "Upper Room" Worship Space
Here are some images of the new "Upper Room" worship space, primarily used by Riverchase United Methodist Church's Hispanic congregation. The highly-flexible worship and multipurpose space can accommodate up to 900 people and is located on the second floor of the new Elementary Education Building.
More information about this and the other buildings Aho Architects designed under this project is available on our website here.
Resources for Designing Safe Schools
Here are some resources for designing safe schools compiled by the Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE), a practice area of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Aho Architects, LLC is a member of both the CAE and the AIA.
Now, more than ever, it is extremely important to integrate safety and security design thinking in educational environments.
- U.S. Department of Education presentation William Lassiter, Dir. Of Communication, NC Dept. of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention and Steven McElroy, Director of Security Safety & Security, Columbus Ohio Public Schools http://rems.ed.gov/docs/Training_CHIL07_SafetyPhysicalDesign.pdf
- Architecture, Design and School Crime Prevention, Ken Trump http://www.schoolsecurity.org/resources/school-design.html
- Florida Safe Schools Design Guidelines http://www.fldoe.org/edfacil/pdf/fl_ssg.pdf
- California Department of Education http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss/vp/safeschlplanning.asp
- Singapore Guidelines http://www.ncpc.gov.sg/pdf/CPTED%20Guidebook.pdf
- FEMA Primer to Design Safe School Projects in Case of Terrorist Attacks and School Shootings http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/st/bips07_428_schools.pdf
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design http://cptedsecurity.com/cpted_design_guidelines.htm
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, Robert A. Gardner http://www.crimewise.com/library/cpted.html
- Safety by Design, Don Hensely http://asumag.com/mag/university_safety_design
- Designing Safe Schools, Gary C. Prager, AIA http://asumag.com/mag/university_designing_safe_schools
- National Clearing House for Educational Facilities http://www.ncef.org/rl/safety_security.cfm
GSCC Bids Retrofit Roof of Electronics Buidling
We received (under budget) bids this morning to construct a sloped metal retrofit roofing system on the former Automotive Building at Gadsden State Community College's Ayers Campus in Anniston. The College has retrofit a number of older flat-roofed buildings on the campus, and this project will continue that investment.
Rendering of retrofit metal roof and new entrance canopy to be constructed in this project.
Under Budget...
We are pleased that bids were received from 6 of 7 pre-qualified general contractors, and that the low bid was substantially (22%) under budget. Aho Architects is also pleased that the average of all bids received is also under budget (by 2.8%). This is consistent with our historical cost estimating performance which is around 2% under budget.
Related work...
Aho Architects is also honored to be GSCC's architect for a complete interior renovation of the same building, under a separate project with construction starting next week. This renovation will convert the structure into a new home for GSCC's electronics programs on the campus. Aho Architects also designed renovations for electronics (robotics, electronics, process logic controls, etc.) on GSCC's East Broad Street Campus. That project is featured here on our website.
View of the existing building before renovation
A Word of Thanks...
Aho Architects and Gadsden State would like to thank the following General Contractors (listed alphabetically) for the time, effort, and investment they made in submitting bids for this project:
- Alabama Roofing & Sheet Metal Co., Inc.
- Assurance Service Group, Inc.
- Boatner Construction Co., Inc.
- Dunn Building Company
- Hale Building Company
- Kent Consolidated Construction, Inc.
Classroom Design Matters
A study published by Salford University in Manchester, U.K. presents some interesting findings related to student achievement and the design of their learning environments.
The study's findings include:
- Classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress over a year by as much as 25%
- 73% of the variation in pupil performance driven at the class level can be explained by the building environment factors measured in this study.
The study examined design parameters such as classroom orientation, natural light and noise, temperature and air quality. Other issues such as flexibility of space, storage facilities and organisation, as well as use of color were also evaluated.
The full article can be viewed on Salford's website here. The research is also published at ScienceDirect.com here.
Overview of Research Design | Figure from ScienceDirect.com
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132312002582#gr1
CACC Biology Lab Project Bids are in Budget
Yesterday, we received bids for the Biology Lab Renovation Project for Central Alabama Community College, Alexander City campus. This project is the first construction project bid under a multi-year Open-End agreement for projects <$250,000 which CACC awarded Aho Architects a few months ago.
The biology lab renovation project converts existing general classroom space into a state-of-the-art lecture/classroom/laboratory facility for the college's biology classes.
A total of 6 bids were received from pre-qualified general contractors, and the results were within budget and within 1% of our cost estimate, a testament to our team's estimating abilities.
A Word of Thanks...
Aho Architects and CACC would like to thank the following General Contractors (listed alphabetically) for the time, effort, and investment they made in submitting bids for this project:
- Assurance Service Group, Inc.
- Battle-Miller Construction Corp.
- Bullard-Cook, Inc.
- Henderson & Coker, Inc.
- J.A. Lett Construction Co., Inc.
- M.J. Brooks & Son Construction, Inc.
Shelton State Renovation of Bldg. 200 Nears Completion
Our interior renovation of Building 200 on the C.A. Fredd Campus of Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa is nearing completion. The project should be ready for final inspection in the coming weeks.
Construction Progress at LIFE Tech Transition Center
Retrofit metal roofing systems are being added to three buildings at the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles LIFE Tech Transition Center in Thomasville, AL. Two of the buildings are well underway as shown in these before and "in-progress" photos taken last Friday.
Work in Progress 2/15/13:
Administration Building (in-progress)
Views from before construction started:
Administration Bldg. (before)
Maintenance Building (in-progress)
Maintenance Bldg. (before)
Gadsden State Holds Open House for 2 Aho Projects
Yesterday, Gadsden State Community College held open houses at two projects designed by Aho Architects: The New Automotive Services Technology Building, and the Bevill Center Renovation. In addition to the open houses, the College held a parade between the two projects and dedicated a new campus gateway road and intersection project. (Please click the preceding links for photos and more info. about each project.)
New Automotive Services Technology Building | Gadsden State Community College, East Broad Street Campus, Gadsden, AL
Bevill Center Renovation | Gadsden State Community College, East Broad Street Campus, Gadsden, AL
GSCC President Dr. Raymond Staats addresses the crowd, while Gadsden Mayor Sherman Guyton looks on
Mary Scott Hunter, State Board of Education Member (District 8), spoke about pride of place, showing your history and what you're about
Dr. Mark Heinrich, Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, addresses the crowd
Additional media coverage can be found on al.com and in the Gadsden Times
New Photos of WSCC Academy of Cosmetic Arts
Here are some new photos of the Academy of Cosmetic Arts at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, AL.
Click any image above for a larger view and more details.
For more information about this project, please click here for details. You can also use the following links for more information about our work for Community Colleges and other Education Clients.