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Board reviews Drew Middle School schematic designs and auditorium options; staff favors flexible forum with telescoping seating
Summary
Architects presented options for Drew Middle School including full auditorium, glass-enclosed amphitheater and a combined forum/gym option using telescoping bleachers. Board indicated preference for the multi-use forum option as a cost-effective middle-ground.
Staff and the project architect presented schematic-design options for the new Drew Middle School (site off Cliff Farm Road), focusing on a performance/assembly space and related trade-offs among cost, flexibility and community use.
Why this matters: the middle school is a major capital project for the division. The team reviewed multiple approaches to a performing space — a conventional purpose-built auditorium, a cafetorium/low-cost option, a glass-enclosed amphitheater in the building core, and a hybrid solution that pairs a forum with the auxiliary gym using telescoping bleachers — and outlined the budgetary and operational consequences of each.
What was presented: the architect described a compact, stacked three-story footprint that concentrates classrooms to minimize site development costs; the program includes art, science, tech and a media center. For performance spaces the options shown were: • Option 1 (baseline/cafetorium): low additional cost but limited acoustics and functionality…
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