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2009 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture. Reading Citadel Intermediate High School. Reading, PA High School Design Concept Award McKissick Associates. Reading Citadel Intermediate High School.
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2009 Exhibition of SchoolPlanning and Architecture Reading Citadel Intermediate High School Reading, PA High School Design Concept Award McKissick Associates
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolA career defining project: revitalizing the heart of a struggling city The adaptive reuse of this site has contributed to the city of Reading on a number of levels: The old hospital building would have be vacated regardless. The empty shell would have become a home to rodents, vagrants, gangs and drug dealers. This 26 tax parcel site was never on the tax rolls. Reuse of the site for a non-taxable entity means that 26 blocks of homes and businesses elsewhere in the city remain in tact and taxable. The hospital was one of the few long-term structures with historic and sentimental connections to many of the residents who choose to stay in Reading. The place of so many births and connections will now have a respectful reuse with it’s historic walls and sense of “place” maintained. Development of this site was far more timely and cost effective than the acquisition of any other equivalent group of sites. The photo below was the site of St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania - actively serving as a hospital until 2007 when the conversion to a high school began. The photo to the right shows St. Joe’s at the turn of the century. The earliest construction on the site dates from the 1870s.
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolScope of Site Development READING READING Areas of Significant Renovation Area of New Construction Areas of Demolition (power plant, wood frame & 70s) Area of Future Auditorium Addition New Athletic Field(football practice) Future District Maintenance Facility Kindergarten Cottage Existing Parking Garage Property Extents Existing City Park with Tennis Courts, Amphitheatre
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolCommunity Environment In 2005, St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital announced it would build a new hospital outside of town and vacate the existing facility within the city. The Catholic Church approached the school district about transferring the property to the district for their use. McKissick Associates was retained to perform a risk analysis study to determine what uses were possible and what resources on site could be adapted to accommodate an educational facility for the district. While the Reading School District is one of the state’s largest from a pupil enrollment perspective, Reading is a very compact, built-up city and very little land remains for new construction. This site location is particularly attractive as it is adjacent to a large public park which has been developed with sports facilities and an outdoor ampetheatre. The site had been a hospital since the 1870s and the community has always had strong feelings about the collection of buildings. Our designers felt it was important to retain as many of the historic features as possible to continue that sentimental connection between the community and her residents. The upper photograph shows a close-up of the hospitals courtyard which centers around the original chapel which has not been visible since a 1960 addition which blocked all view of it from the community. The chapel will be prominently visible once again, and in fact, a number of positive editorials were received by the papers once the demolition was complete. The lower photograph shows the site before the new construction began. Fall 2006 Fall 2007, After Demolition
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolCommunity Environment The community of Reading, Pennsylvania struggles with economic hardship, unemployment in excess of norms, poverty, crime and gangs, so much of the development of the site focuses on safety for the students and the community. The entire site is secured by several passive barriers: the high retaining wall at the rear of the site to create the practice field, the grade of the site itself which makes access difficult by any means but secured entrances, and by the covered walkway which provides an enclosed courtyard centered on the original chapel.
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolLearning Environment Due to overcrowding issues at the very nearby high school, a school for grades 9-10 was developed. Student retention through graduation is a challenge for this largely minority district. In an effort to retain students through graduation and to create more effectively sized teaching environments, classrooms have been divided among 4 newly developed magnet programs: arts & humanities, international business, technology, and agriculture ecology & science. Gymnasium Library Black Box Theatre Music Cafeteria/ Commons Digital Arts & Tech Home Ec / Childcare Each self-contained school will have their own teaching labs,administration and guidance areas and will be further sub-divided into 4 learning clusters so that students transition to high school within a smaller setting. Looping of instructors will permit two years of contact with professional teaching staff.
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolLearning Environment Approximately 3,000 students will attend the school and the magnet areas will accommodate 750 students for each area of study. The four clusters within each magnet area will enroll approximately 190 students each so that students will be interacting with a much smaller group of individuals than the district’s current curriculum allows. Use of colors and themes will cultivate a localized sense of identity with the magnet schools. Each magnet school has its own scheme and additional color schemes are used for the gymnasium, physical education and “spirit” areas as well as the more adult-oriented theme of the library and common spaces. As is common with historic buildings, the interior spaces will be somewhat unique. The quality and durability of finishes will communicate respect for the students while requiring minimal maintenance of finishes. View from the library stair Future internet cafe Rendering of new cafeteria behind preserved 1870 stone wall Future music room
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolPhysical Environment In spite of the physical size of the facility, almost 300,000 SF on seven floors when completed, the smaller magnet schools will be arranged in conjunction with the core spaces so that students will not have to move between more than 3 floors. The steeply sloping site, which drops 160 feet over a three-block distance, allows exits to grade from almost every level of the building. The oldest portion of the structure, a five-story stone chapel from the 1870s, will house music and large group instruction areas. Demolition has exposed the stone wall façade which is once again visible to the public and will frame a protected student courtyard to provide outdoor social and learning areas for the students. A floor added to the existing five-story structure will contain classrooms for the parallel magnet schools. Remaining exterior features have been restored except for removal of religious icons from the former Catholic hospital. A garage already located on the lower portion of this 8-acre inner-city site will accommodate parking. Other structures on the upper site, now demolished, will provide a sports practice field.
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolPhysical Environment More than 150,000 SF of space built primarily between 1950 and 1970 was demolished and a mixture of masonry and metal cladding systems will integrate the remaining historic structure with the 110,000 SF of new construction. New areas will house core spaces including a cafeteria commons, kitchen and support areas, gymnasium, large group instruction and a blackbox theatre. Stained and polished concrete floors and linoleum in corridors in primary circulation areas were selected for durability and ease of maintenance.
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolPlanning Process When the hospital built a new facility, they offered their campus to the district as a gift. We performed a risk analysis study to determine if a school on the site was programmatically and fiscally feasible. Because of wage rate laws, the hospital was able to perform site work, environmental remediation & demolition at considerable cost savings to the district which agreed to purchase the site for the cost of the modifications. Site circulation using the existing city street grid was developed by working closely with city planning authorities. The existing city street grid will be utilized for traffic flow around the building and a garage already located on the lower portion of the site will accommodate parking.
2005 March Retained to provide risk analysis May Reviewed possible uses of site for use as multi-building campus, elementary, middle or high school use, projected costs for scenarios involving complete demolition as well as renovations June Developed terms and conditions for transfer of property between Catholic Diocese and the School District August Directed and headed negotiations with hospital board regarding scope of work to be executed before transfer and determined purchase price 2006 January Began planning for grade 9 & 10 high school on site February Worked with district educators to develop magnet school curriculum March Worked with Pennsylvania Historic & Museum Commission regarding proposed alteration to the historic structure April Developed educational specifications for magnet school configuration May Developed preliminary design for the high school June Completed plans for environmental remediation, partial demolition and site preparation to be executed by the hospital July A physical model is built of the site to illustrate the scope of work and final configuration of the facility (used for planning, zoning and public meetings) September Worked with Department of Transportation on the implementation of the existing city grid for school traffic October Hospital begins transferring patients to new facility 2007 January Limited site remediation work begins and some renovations begin August Last hospital patients are transferred and demolition begins October Bids on new construction work are received November Demolition work is completed and renovation work continues 2008 March New construction begins 2009 December Substantial completion of project 2010 January Students attend school at the Reading “Citadel” School Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolPlanning Process Historic postcard of the early hospital
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolSummary of Challenges and Features Challenges: Steeply sloping site: 160 ft drop over a three-block area Design had to be undertaken with limited access due to the fact hospital remained fully operational until demolition began with many conditions undiscovered after 137 years of constant renovation Extremely limited budget: $60 million for purchase, demolition, construction and renovation of 300,000 SF (this budget was later increase to provide larger PE and common facilities) Features: • Five-story 1873 stone chapel repurposed for music. 30" thick walls become exterior of new additions. • Original 1880 brick tower spire lost to storm in 1980 will be reconstructed. • 80,000 bricks from demolished 1880 structure was salvaged for renovations to a school in Florida.
Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Data
Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Details
Reading Citadel Intermediate High SchoolInterior Renderings These images are computer renderings of space in the area new construction created behind the existing 1870 wall which faces the courtyard.
Reading Citadel Intermediate High School This project is an important one for our firm - largely because it illustrates how the essence of what architecture is can change lives. This building and what it represents, will effectively shift the destiny of an entire town. It’s value is not in the end product itself, but rather in the collective intersection of history, technology, economic development and good fortune. This project required all the skills of our firm; not just architectural design or educational planning, but historic preservation, city planning, construction estimating and finance, development negotiations, public presentation and politics. The number of leaders that needed to work together combined with the complexity of events that needed to occur on schedule makes this project’s mere existence a statistical improbability. The experience has been both exhilarating and humbling. The right architect in the right place at the right time can show possibilities to the community leaders who can act. This project has reaffirmed our commitment to architecture and our belief that even just a very few people can make a very big difference. Future music room
