A School for Complex Needs
For more than thirty years, the private League School in Massachusetts, served individuals with autism in a building built in 1934. In 1997, Executive Director Dr. Herman Fishbein learned that the city of Newton was exercising its option to buy back the school and that staff and students would have to relocate by the fall of 1999. Fishbein viewed these events as a chance to build a unique facility specifically tailored to the needs of autistic students. The new year-round school built in Walpole, Mass., is designed and furnished entirely to meet their complex needs. The possibilities actualized in this new 34,970-square-foot facility would never have existed in the prior building.
“We used people with disabilities as design consultants,” said Fishbein. “Parts of the building were custom designed, not off the shelf.” Furniture was also specially designed. Fishbein brought together parents, students, faculty and even former students to come up with design and architectural suggestions for the new school.
The League School provides educational opportunities to autistic children who require specialized services not offered in public schools. Autism is a neurological disorder that affects social interaction and communication skills; people with autism are very sensitive to sounds and easily distracted. Approximately 100 students-ranging in age from five to 22-and 140 teachers interact in the one-story facility, which as far as Fishbein knows, is the only one in the country built for people with autism and Asperger Syndrome. Students come to League School from all over Massachusetts, several other states, and from abroad.
Incandescent Lighting
Many materials incorporated into the League School would not be found in conventional schools. There are no florescent lights in the school; instead incandescent lighting was selected. The humming and vibration of the ballasts from florescent fixtures distract autistic individuals.
There are lots of dimmer switches. The school is energy efficient, lights go on and off by themselves.
Windowsills in the classroom are raised above conventional sill height while the operable part of the window is raised above shoulder height in order to prevent students from harming themselves on screens or moving parts. There are no window shades in the building, the glass automatically tints.
Skylights are installed at every corridor intersection to help students orient themselves. The walls also change texture to indicate a different section of the building.
Central air conditioning was installed because ceiling fans easily mesmerizes students with autism. Architect Albert Fine of Fine Associates said there are 12 HVAC zones and all are centrally controlled from the maintenance director’s office.
Muted Colors and Contrast
Kids can find their way around the building by color and texture. Earth tones were used throughout the building since bright colors easily distract the students. Salmon orange and sage greens are the most dominant hues within the building, says Fishbein.
Corridors of the different wings of the building vary slightly in color to help students distinguish the different parts of the building. The floors are color-coded.
“The use of patterns was avoided to minimize distractions,” said Fine. “The idea is to have color, but for it to be restful and avoid bright primary colors.” Waterfalls and fountains are located throughout the facility.
Padded Flooring
Due to the unique behavioral characteristics of autism, close attention to the safety of the students needed to be addressed. Kydex impact absorbent laminate panels were applied to all common areas and corridors to protect both the students and the walls from damage caused by punching and kicking.
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Project Data Architect: Fine Associates CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS FURNITURE-By Owner CARPET AND FLOORING LIGHTING SECURITY/ FIRE SAFETY WASHROOM EQUIPMENT PHYSICAL EDUCATION EQUIPMENT HVAC CONTROLS |
“Wherever possible, vinyl flooring and wallcoverings were used,” said Fine. Project Manager Brian Collins, with Bowdoin Construction Corp., said Kydex was installed over drywall to a height of 42 inches in the corridors and lobby areas.
The occupational therapy room contains a rubber floor with large interlocking pads. A tube steel equipment hanger is suspended from the ceiling where students can swing from different hanging apparatuses. The gymnasium basketball court utilized Sport Court rubberized plastic laminate tiles, which are softer than a wood floor and easy to replace if damaged. Fishbein explained that the floor is a rubber mat designed like a jigsaw puzzle so it can be reconfigured if extra padding is needed.
“The school has rooms you would not see in a conventional school, occupational therapy rooms and time-out rooms,” said Robert Keeley, principal-in-charge at Bowdoin. “These were padded areas where, if a student needed a place to vent, they could do so in a harmless way.”
Sewage Project Manager Collins explained that there was some concern about waste leaving the building, and whether to construct a private system or connect to the existing sewer system. “Ultimately we decided to tie into the town’s existing sewer system and tunneled under the highway to do it,” said Collins. Horizontal boring methods were used to go under the highway to connect to the city system, which was facilitated by the use of a force main.
Classrooms and Other Spaces
There are twenty-one classrooms with video monitoring systems. Video monitoring systems are in every classroom, rather than a limited number of observation rooms with two-way mirrors. This setup allows parents to view their child in any one of the classrooms and view them on a television monitor in the learning environment. Every classroom has Internet access and all the classrooms are connected.
“The classrooms are small in size-400 square feet-they are designed for four to six kids,” said Fine. “All of the classrooms are on the perimeter of the facility.” They also have permanent sliding doors to make them twice as big.
“We don’t have any locking mechanisms in any of the doors,” said Fine. “They are either push-pulls or passage sets.”
According to Fishbein, the security system is fail-safe with audio and video surveillance.
There also are no urinals in any bathrooms. For sanitary reasons they only have bathroom stalls.
The auditorium was designed so that kids don’t need microphones, explained Fishbein. A commercial kitchen was constructed to teach food service. There also is a fully handicapped accessible playground.
Construction Challenges
Challenges facing the construction manager, architect, and owner were a tight time frame, a $4 million budget, and moving and replacing wetlands. Nonetheless, the project was completed within a 260-day schedule for a construction cost of $3,902,938, a $45,519 savings from the original contract guaranteed maximum price of $3,948,457, which was established prior to the start of construction. The school reopened at its new site on November 1, 1999.
“It basically ended up costing us $100 a square foot to build, which we thought was excellent for the kind of building we got,” said Fishbein. “It was like a design/build with Bowdoin where they guaranteed the price of the building.” “The exterior was designed to be welcoming,” said Fine.
“The exterior is red brick and hunter green; a quarter-circle with an arcaded canopy.” There are two separate entrances for administrative staff and student drop-off/ pick-up.
A significant portion of the 12-acre site was wetlands and had to be marked off as protected. Some areas had to be replicated.
The League School project was awarded the 2000 Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts “Eagle” Award for Excellence in Construction. Award winners were determined by an independent panel, and were based on execution of design, craftsmanship, attention to detail, and safety.