Designer for High School

Daily Times Chronicle Ellen Knight | Posted: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 12:00 pm 

WINCHESTER – Following what superintendent William McAlduff called an “outstanding” presentation, the architectural firm of Symmes Maini & McKee Associates, Inc., (SMMA) was chosen for the high school feasibility study.

The feasibility study will result in a preferred option, be it a renovated school or a new building, being put forward to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for approval and a funding agreement with the town.

SMMA was chosen by the Massachusetts School Building Authority Designer Selection Panel, which interviewed the two finalists, SMMA and Tappé Associates (designer of the new Vinson-Owen School).

The selection panel included 12 members appointed by the MSBA plus three locals, including the town manager, superintendent of schools, and Educational Facilities Planning and Building Committee chairman.

Superintendent William McAlduff said a particular strength of SMMA’s presentation was their educational planning and programming piece.

The letter from MSBA stated that SMMA “possesses the requisite skills and experience for this project, particularly in light of their extensive experience in the design and construction of schools in Massachusetts.”

SMMA’s portfolio includes more than 40 elementary, middle and high school projects, including high schools in Bridgewater, Douglas, Grafton, Hudson, Quincy, Marblehead, Swampscott, and West Springfield.

The next major decision for the high school project is the choice of an owner’s project manager. McAlduff told the School Committee that Skanska USA Building Inc. has been proposed and that the MSBA should make a decision at its March 5 meeting.

Once SMMA is officially on board (with an executed contract), the feasibility study can begin. Alternatives must be studied and a preferred alternative determined, just as happened with the Vinson-Owen study. This could take the rest of the calendar year, if not longer.

McAlduff said that a goal is to maximize public participation and that he imagines two or three meetings between now and the end of the school year.