HMFH Architects and Shawmut Design & Construction begin $56.2 million Wayland High School

According to HMFH Architects, construction has commenced on the new Wayland High School. Slated for completion for the 2012 school year, the $56.2 million project includes 160,000 s/f of new construction and 40,000 s/f of renovation. KVAssociates is the owner's project manager and Shawmut Design & Construction is the construction manager at risk (CM-at-Risk) under Massachusetts's new construction statute. The original Wayland High School was designed and built in the early 1960s and widely touted for its modern form - a modular, team-teaching, California-style campus of eight buildings. Thirty years after it opened, selected upgrades such as roof replacement, system repairs and new finishes were made to the facility, but the physical condition and the energy performance of the school continued to deteriorate. "This long-awaited project will ensure that the town of Wayland continues its tradition of excellence in delivering quality education," said Gary Burton, superintendent of the Wayland Public Schools. "Our building committee has been working closely with HMFH Architects since 2004 to define the best ways to modernize our physical facilities so that our already successful school can continue to thrive and excel. We are confident that this construction process will result in a superior new high school." In 2004, HMFH Architects began working with the Wayland High School building committee to assess physical conditions and develop a programmatic solution that would support up to 1,100 students and the current educational program at WHS. The initial plan was rejected by the voters when the moratorium on state funding was imposed. With the reinstatement of the new Mass. School Building Authority in 2008, project planning resumed with an educational visioning session involving a wide range of community stakeholders. The resulting educational plan combines new construction with renovation in a three-building campus that includes an academic building and a commons building linked by an open courtyard, and renovation of the existing 40,000 s/f field house. "The town of Wayland has waited many years for this project to come to fruition," said George Metzger, AIA, president of HMFH and principal-in-charge of the project. Consistent with the initial educational concept, the new academic building groups general classrooms and informal small learning spaces in four flexible clusters around the central media center and seminar classroom with tiered seating. The adjacent commons building, in addition to the 600-seat auditorium and student dining commons, includes a music suite, art studios, "fab" lab, and fitness studio. The commons connects to the adjacent field house, which is being updated for full accessibility, Title IX equity, and improvements in energy use and conservation. HMFH's high performance design features integrated daylight harvesting, using a combination of external sunshades, internal light shelves, and rooftop light monitors to daylight most of the learning spaces in the new buildings. Efficient site design includes relocating campus parking, replacing extensive paving with natural surfaces, and creating rain gardens to manage surface run-off in paved areas. The phased construction plan calls for existing academic buildings to be left in place while the new buildings are constructed. Earlier this summer, temporary parking and traffic plans were put in place to minimize disruption to school operations.