SCHRADERGROUP Architecture Welcomes New Designer

Schradergroup Architecture is pleased to welcome Brittany van Veen, CSI EP, to our team as Project Designer. Brittany joins Schradergroup with nearly five years of professional experience leading projects from conception through to completion. She is a graduate of Catholic University of America and holds both a Bachelor of Science in Architecture as well as a Masters of Architecture. In addition to her well-rounded architectural experience and strong presentation and communication skills, Brittany contributes a unique understanding of Design Technologies and fabrication processes. As a result, Brittany excels in developing cost effect designs and details, and in blending new design technologies with fabrication capabilities.

In her new role at SGA, Brittany will be involved in a number of different projects types – a few of which include additions, renovations and new facility design for the academic and public safety markets.

SCHRADERGROUP Architecture Opens New Regional Office

Schradergroup Architecture is pleased to announce the opening of a Lancaster branch office. With the opening of the Lancaster office, SGA adds structural engineering and forensic investigations to the list of services offered to clients by the firm. Founded in 2004, SGA specializes in feasibility studies, master planning, additions, renovations, and new facility design. Dedicated to academic facility design throughout the mid-Atlantic region and public safety facility design throughout the United States, SGA looks forward to the opportunity to better serve clients through the addition of the new regional office location, personnel, and expanded services.

SCHRADERGROUP Architecture Welcomes New Principal

Schradergroup Architecture is pleased to welcome Harry J. Pettoni to the firm as Principal. Harry brings over 21 years of professional architectural and construction experience in the public and private sectors.  Throughout his diverse and extensive career, he has focused primarily on strategic planning, marketing and business development, programming, planning, project development and sustainable design.

Harry is dedicated to improving facilities by creating 21st century healthy environments for end users.  He is an active member of many organizations including the American Institute of Architects (AIA), US Green Building Council (USGBC), Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC), the Green Building Association of Central Pennsylvania (GBA-CPA) and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI).  He presents at numerous seminars, workshops and forums on various topics throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

Harry received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Syracuse University School of Architecture. In addition, he has an Associate Degree in Applied Sciences in Architectural and Construction Technology from State University of New York.

In his new role at Schradergroup, Harry will be responsible for project management and business development.

Integrating Architecture and Structure: A Cross-Discipline Approach

Too often, the role of structural engineering in the architectural design process is reactive.  This is an unfortunate reality since these two disciplines are so closely related.  So much so that, in the building design realm, one does not exist without the other.

In many instances, planning and design advances beyond the programming stage to the point where an entire facility plan is on paper with little or no input from the Structural Engineer.  While this isn’t necessarily beyond the point of no return, the Structural Engineer usually has two choices:

Make It Work – this path often leads to inefficiency, unnecessary complexity, and additional costs.

Change It – while this path may lead to a better design, it can require a significant amount of backtracking and rework.

Of course, design development is an iterative process.  However, the better approach is for the Structural Engineer to become immersed in the project from inception.  Getting involved at the first stages of programming discussions with Owners and end-users allows the Structural Engineer to be engaged in the conceptual development of the overall plan at a time when their input is highly effective and purposefully influential.

‘At the beginning’ is the best time for the Structural Engineer to provide insight for the big-picture decisions that are part of every project; decisions that have a major impact on form, function, cost, and constructability.  Many factors require thoughtful consideration and, if left unattended for too long, can have a negative impact on the process.  Waiting until the Owners have bought into the design is not a reasonable or beneficial methodology.

Creative is one of the more powerful and influential words used to define an Architect or the process of Architectural Design.  How often are Structural Engineers defined in the same manner?  Not very often, I would surmise.  But the true answer is driven by their extent and timing of integration into each project.  If they’re a late arrival to the process, numerous constraints may already be in place, limiting their creative freedom.  With early involvement, their creative potential is much broader and will have a more positive impact on the project as whole.

Yes, the discipline of structural engineering can be rigid, formulaic, and is always constrained by material strengths and the immutable laws of physics.  However, there are almost always multiple solutions to every problem.  Early involvement ensures that many of these potential solutions remain viable and that a consensus approach to a final solution is made.  There is no better time to make the right decisions than during the conceptual sketch-planning stages of development.

The collaborative team mindset between the Architect and Structural Engineer is crucial at the very onset of each new project.  Efficient, cost-effective, and highly sustainable buildings are always desirable goals.  Achieving these goals requires that the Architect and Structural Engineer work together from day one.  Both the Architect and the Structural Engineer are highly trained and skilled participants, each with a different knowledge base that must be integrated for successful results.

SCHRADERGROUP Architecture Welcomes New Designer

Schradergroup Architecture is pleased to welcome Kelly Ryan to our team as Project Designer.  Kelly, a recent graduate of Pennsylvania State University, comes to Schradergroup with multiple years of internship experience working primarily with institutional project types.  Her experience to date includes completion of design and construction documentation, BIM model development, LEED documentation, feasibility studies, 3D digital modeling, and presentation renderings.  In her new role at SGA, Kelly will be involved in a number of different projects types including additions, renovations and new facility design for the academic and public safety markets.

Empowering School Districts through Intelligent Planning

At Schradergroup Architecture, we know targeted planning initiatives can lead to the successful resolution of issues that so often beleaguer school districts.  Our twenty-five years of innovative planning experience allow us to lead districts through a comprehensive master planning process that includes assessing current conditions, identifying problem areas, and determining feasible options that deliver flexible, cost-efficient and enduring solutions.

For example, we recently helped a Pennsylvania school district to complete a district-wide assessment that led to the planning and design of three new, state-of-the art elementary schools to replace nine ailing elementary buildings.  What is remarkable about this achievement is that the new schools will be completely financed within current district spending and will result in a net-zero cost difference to the district tax payer.  As a result of intelligent planning, the district is able to achieve a proper distribution of the current student population, accommodate projected enrollment increases, reduce operating costs, and provide three new 21^st century learning environments.

A prototype design for a state-of-the-art elementary school. Three new buildings of this caliber will replace nine ailing facilities as a result of smart planning.

Planning efforts are a relatively small investment to make, particularly when considering the potentially powerful impact of the outcome.  To remain vital, districts must make decisions that best serve students, faculty, and staff, as well as their communities.  Smart planning empowers districts to move forward with purpose and direction, making the very most of the resources available and achieving the most optimal results for the district as a whole.

SCHRADERGROUP Architecture Welcomes New Designer

Schradergroup Architecture is pleased to welcome Eric Weiss to our team as Project Designer. Eric is a recent graduate of Pennsylvania State University and comes to Schradergroup with multiple years of internship experience working primarily with institutional and residential project types. His experience with graphic presentation programs combined with his excellent skills as a photographer serve as valuable assets for helping to visually communicate ideas and concepts to clients. Eric additionally contributes a strong working knowledge of BIM and uses his skills in Revit to improve design solution appropriateness, workflow, and efficiency in projects.

In his new role at SGA, Eric will be involved in a number of different projects types – a few of which include additions, renovations and new facility design for the academic and public safety markets.

SCHRADERGROUP Architecture Welcomes New Principal and Adds Structural Engineering to Services Offered

Schradergroup Architecture is pleased to welcome Thomas E. Forsberg, PE, to the firm as Principal, Structural Engineering. Tom holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and is a registered Professional Engineer in several states.

During more than 20 years of professional practice, Tom has developed extensive expertise in the design and evaluation of masonry buildings and systems, forensic investigations, diagnostics, and problem resolution. His structural design experience includes the design and evaluation of concrete, masonry, steel and wood structures. Additionally, his expertise includes building surveys, code analyses, structural load ratings, reinforcement and restoration design, and investigative reports.

Tom has written and published technical articles and delivered lectures on the subjects of structural assessment, forensic investigation, masonry restoration, and structural masonry design.

With the addition of Tom to our firm, we are proud to expand our services to include structural engineering and look forward to new and broadened opportunities. Tom will be heading up Schradergroup’s new regional office located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

SchraderGroup Develops Performing Arts Charter School Concept in Philadelphia

View of the main entrance during a performance.

The SchraderGroup Architecture team recently had the good fortune to be one of the finalists for the design of a Performing Arts Charter School in Southwest Philadelphia.  The location of the proposed site is in a newly expanding area located between the sports complexes and South Philadelphia.

The proposal requested a high profile presence to assist the school in promoting its performing and visual arts curricula.  The theater is the center of all functions in the facility, with all arts instruction spaces and STEAM education spaces emanating from the performing arts core.  The facility accommodates fourteen hundred students in grades six through twelve through an inviting performance-centered atmosphere.

SGA responded with a compact three story scheme fitting on to the site in the footprint provided.  SGA’s strong project-based and flexible learning environments dominated the academic portions of the facility.   In addition, the SGA concept highlights the performing arts capabilities of the facility by creating a front entry for the theater at the entry to the site.  The building’s location on the site creates a strong visual presence for the school by connecting it to the neighborhood by both day and by night.

The Owner strongly complimented SchraderGroup on the concept and imagery in the proposal, however SGA was not selected as the finalist for the project.  SchraderGroup will add the concepts developed for this proposal to its portfolio of educational facility designs and utilize this work as reference and inspiration for future educational facility planning and design.

A view to the Philadelphia Skyline beyond the new Performing Arts High School

Prioritizing aesthetic value and innovation through consensus-based design

As design professionals, we often hear that innovative design, environmental sustainability or aesthetically-pleasing space may be difficult goals to achieve within a publicly-funded budget.  The truth is, if an innovative design or an environmentally sensitive project isn’t a priority from the very beginning of a project, those goals will certainly be difficult to achieve. That difficulty has more to do with project planning than project budget.

However, there are design methods that we utilize time and time again to successfully meet any reasonable design priority within a given budget.  I’ll outline the design process below to show you how project teams can successfully prioritize aesthetics and innovation and still meet the project budget.

1.)    Establish need:  Typically, the first step for an owner in any construction project is establishing need.  A current facility is too small, too old, or too expensive to continue to operate.

2.)    Establish project budget:  After the project need is established, determining a budget and programming the use of the building often follow.  While the overall budget is established through a bond issue in major capitol improvement projects, it is important to remember that how the building program fits within that budget is almost always malleable.

3.)    Establish design priorities: During the programming and planning process of a project, appoint a representative (or representatives) from each stakeholder group in the proposed project.  If the project involves a school building, invite student, educators, administrators, board members, parents and the public to be stakeholders in establishing the design priorities.  Once the stakeholder group is established, open the planning discussion to those stakeholders through a design priority workshop (also known as an “integrated design charrette”) – check out the end of this article for several resources on design charrettes and workshops.

Teachers, administrators, parents and design professionals meet during a design charrette for Ferguson Township Elementary School

Successful workshops incorporate the following elements:

• Ensure that design professionals are present at the workshop that can inform, guide and educate stakeholders on the design possibilities.  These design professionals are typically architects, engineers and construction managers that are adept at fostering creativity and discussion.  They are there to educate, inspire and convey professional expertise to the stakeholders.

• During the design charrette, democratically establish design priorities from all of the stakeholders.  Discuss the priorities as a group and rank each of the priorities in order of importance.  In our experience organizing and overseeing design charrettes, most stakeholders actually nominate aesthetics and innovative technologies as top priorities.  There may be several stakeholders that prioritize “budget” as the top priority.  While project budget will always be the ultimate priority, it is important to educate all stakeholders that project budget is not scope budget.  Each design priority’s scope only makes up a portion of the over project budget.  Prioritizing one scope of work over another allows the group to understand where funding priorities fall within the overall project budget.

4.)    Establish a plan:  The next step is finally putting pen to paper to develop schematic designs that balance the budget and design priorities into a cohesive building program.  From these preliminary plans and some additional design development, the design professionals are generally able to generate rough cost estimates for each design priority.  These estimates then allow the stakeholders to evaluate cost vs return on investment for each of the design priorities and determine the feasibility of pursuing one priority over another.

Elementary students sit down to design their new school during a charrette

For examples of projects that were successfully designed and constructed utilizing the integrated project design method, check out Mount Nittany Elementary School, Ferguson Township Elementary School, George Washington Carver High School, and Central York High School.

For further reading on design charrettes and integrated project design, reference the National Institute of Building Sciences’ Whole Building Design Guide: http://www.wbdg.org/resources/charrettes.php  and the National Charrette Institute http://www.charretteinstitute.org/ .  Both of these sites provide excellent resources for those interested in the integrated project design method.