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Planning & Design Meetings 5/15/2013 - MinutesPALO ALTO HS FACILITIES STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Palo Alto Unified School District 15 May 2013 P. 1 PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL Palo Alto Unified School District FACILITIES STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: 15 May 2013, 2:30-4:30 pm SUBJECT: Palo Alto HS Facilities Steering Committee ATTENDEES: See attached sign-in sheet The following are the highlights of the meeting: Projects in Planning Science Addition 1. Tom Hodges (TH) shared that the conceptual design for the science building addition project had been taken to the board and that he is preparing to take the schematic design to the next board meeting. The design team has been working with the science user group to determine the program needs. 2. Erwin Lee (EL) gave a brief presentation to update the current design progress. Site plan, floor plan, and exterior renderings were presented. a. Lori Larson (LL) noted that the floor plans and lab configuration have been reviewed and endorsed by the science department. Kim Diorio (KD) shared that the majority of the time had been spent on the interior rather than the exterior. b. EL explained that the building aesthetic was trying to combine the traditional elements of the campus architecture with some contemporary elements that would convey the nature of the science curriculum. Elements of the building would be part of the curriculum such as solar panels (proposed but not included in the project) to monitor production and consumption of energy. These ideas were discussed with the science users; however, the resolution with the current design had not been shared with them yet. Due to the timing, the FSC was seeing the renderings before the science user group. c. The group generally felt that the blended aesthetic strayed too far from the campus architecture and that they wanted a more traditional aesthetic. With a prominent location on both the quad and the adjacency to the proposed gym, a more traditional look was desired. Some questioned the idea that a department PALO ALTO HS FACILITIES STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Palo Alto Unified School District 15 May 2013 P. 2 could influence the aesthetic of their building over the traditional feel of the campus. d. Based on input from the FSC, EL will explore options with the traditional campus aesthetic. 3. Library Renovation TH explained that a potential change in the program needs to be determined before the library can go back to the BOE. The concern with the BOE had always been that too much of the building had been allocated to non-library functions. The potential change in program would move the College Career Center (CCC) to the current location shown for the Administration. The space vacated by the CCC would be captured by the library for additional meeting space increasing the overall library area. TH feels that if this change is made, the BOE concerns will be addressed and that the design will be approved. 4. In conjunction with the library, the BOE wants to know how these moves will affect other moves around the campus and what the campus will look like at build out. For example, what happens to the vacated spaces in the Tower Building? a. Anne Anderson shared that having spent time in the CCC that the move to the library would be positive. She also noted that restoring the original library in the Tower Building to its original “grand feel” would be extraordinary—especially if the students could use it and experience it. b. KD explained the idea of an Academic Resource Center in the 400 Building, immediately adjacent to the library, to house student services such as peer tutoring, testing center, ARC, blended learning environment, etc. 5. New Gymnasium The gymnasium has not changed since the last presentation to the FSC and BOE. Currently, more detailed work is in progress such as verifying that the allocated areas meet the program needs. 6. Summer Projects a. The Tower Building window replacement project has been awarded and the windows are currently in fabrication. It’s anticipated that this project will be completed by the beginning of July. b. Interim Science Labs Two contracts have been awarded to convert the larger, existing relocatables in the quad into science labs. The labs are scheduled to be available for the next school year. c. Coordination of Donations KD explained that she gets many requests form alumni groups and individuals about donating items to the school and that a coordinated, master plan should be generated so that donated items are not haphazardly placed around campus. Also, the type of items could be determined to provide uniformity to the campus. PALO ALTO HS FACILITIES STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Palo Alto Unified School District 15 May 2013 P. 3 EL added that the master plan provided locations for those wanting to provide memorial trees. 7. Construction Updates a. Athletic Stadium Improvements The project is near completion and punchlist work is in progress. The track resurfacing project has been deleted from the contract and will be awarded to others. It’s anticipated that this work will be completed this b. Media Arts and Classroom Building The construction continues slowly forward and progress can be seen. The contractor’s current schedule shows the buildings being completed in October although many completion dates have given. 8. AA indicated that they have started a fund raising campaign for the media arts program. Engraved donor bricks can be purchased in one of three sizes. The bricks will be located in the front of the media arts building and the new classroom building. Next Meeting FSC Meeting TBD END Prepared by Erwin Lee of Deems Lewis McKinley. Please advise if you feel that any of the above items are inaccurate or need further clarification or detail. cc: Attendees File