Design team shows virtual walkthrough; committee hears about transparency, acoustics and security features

Design consultant AI 3 presented a live virtual walkthrough of the school model at the April 16 meeting, highlighting massing, interior adjacencies, the auditorium and performing arts spaces, classroom neighborhoods, a rooftop learning garden and security features.

AI 3 described the model as a coordination tool rather than a finished rendering. “This is a live model … this is really just a snapshot and used as a design tool,” AI 3 said, and guided the committee through the main entrance, two‑story dining commons, black‑box theater, band and orchestra rooms, auditorium (roughly 800 seats split about two‑thirds on the main floor and one‑third in a balcony), academic neighborhoods, and a rooftop garden and outdoor classroom.

Transparency and safety: The design relies on sidelights and classroom glazing to increase visibility and daylighting. Committee members raised security and maintenance questions, including whether sidelights would have shades and how often extensive glazing would require cleaning. AI 3 said sidelights “all will have shades” and that safety features and procedures — including technology, PA and alarm provisions, and gated construction access during construction — have been reviewed with district safety staff. On gym and auditorium glazing, AI 3 said the glass specified for high‑impact areas is a treated, higher‑safety glazing that “won't go through” like ordinary annealed glass and behaves “like a car windshield” if struck, reducing risk of dangerous shards.

Program and pedagogy: The walkthrough illustrated flexible, stackable classroom neighborhoods with operable walls, en suite practice rooms for performing arts, instrument storage lockers, and collaboration zones. The design includes two dedicated mural zones in public circulation intended for year‑long student murals that would rotate annually; the team plans to document finished murals so earlier work can be preserved in photographic form.

Lighting and finishes: AI 3 said classrooms will typically use acoustic ceiling tile with linear LED pendants and daylight dimming sensors; all fixtures will be LED and tunable to maintain required light levels while saving energy. The team also described ceiling‑hung power reels for art and science spaces to avoid cords on floors.

Next steps: the design will continue into 60% and 90% documents, with proprietary product discussions (for example, lock/key systems noted as a likely district match to existing Schlage hardware) to be brought back to the committee before 90% documents go to bid.