Category: Awards
SCHRADERGROUP Recognized on ENR’s Mid-Atlantic Top Design Firms 2019
SCHRADERGROUP was recently ranked #100 on Engineering News-Record (ENR)’s list of Mid-Atlantic Top Design Firms for 2019.
ENR provides annual ranking charts for both publicly and privately held design firms, located in the Mid Atlantic Region of the United States. The rankings are based on surveys and annual revenue, then further divided into specific market categories.
The Mid-Atlantic Top Design Firms for 2019 lists SCHRADERGROUP at #100. The article features our largest project to break ground in 2018, the New Springfield High School project in Springfield, Pennsylvania. This project was a teamed effort with Perkins + Will of Chicago, Illinois.
See ENR’s list of Mid-Atlantic Top Design Firms for 2019, here.
Council Rock School District’s Holland Middle School Project Achieves LEED Gold & Ace Grant
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded Council Rock School District’s (CRSD) Holland Middle School project a LEED Gold Certification and an Ace Grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. From the very beginning of the planning process, the intent was to transform the existing 1970s building into a contemporary 21st century learning facility. Through the tremendous effort of the CRSD, SCHRADERGROUP (SG) and consultants, and D’Huy Engineering, this amazing transformation is complete.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), is one of the most recognizable green building certification programs worldwide. SG assisted D’Huy Engineering in applying for this two-million-dollar ACE grant for sustainable technologies for use in the Holland Middle School design. With that grant secured, the middle school was designed with creative, viable, cost effective solutions with a goal of achieving LEED Gold Certification. Holland Middle School achieving LEED Gold Certification indicates how the new design features add energy efficiency and sustainability to the facility.
Holland Middle School’s sustainable design features include an introduction of copious daylighting throughout the facility, new windows in the new exterior skin of the building, and increased insulation to the entire building envelope. All general-purpose lighting throughout the facility and on the site is LED, for maximum energy savings, and a photovoltaic system back-feeds into the main service to supplement building energy demands.
With the intent to incorporate the needs of the community into the design, the SG team created new adjacency to allow for community access. The site was modified to create separate bus and parent drop off. The “front” of the building, originally facing a side parking lot, was reoriented to face Holland Road by means of a new front entry and connector lobby sequence. A new Performing Arts Complex was also added to supplement the building program.
SG is proud to have had the opportunity to partner with the Council Rock School District, to design a LEED Gold certified learning environment.
To learn more about Holland Middle School’s sustainable facility, click here.
Gulph Elementary School Receives Outstanding Design Recognition from American School & University’s 2019 Educational Interiors Showcase August Issue
SCHRADERGROUP (SG)’s Gulph Elementary School project has been recognized as an Outstanding Design by the American School & University (AS&U)’s 2019 Educational Interiors Showcase, August Issue.
“The nation’s school and university administrators, as well as education architects, turn to American School & University for how-to features, insight, industry exclusive reports and research on the planning, design, construction, retrofit, operations, maintenance, security and management of education facilities. AS&U’s mission is to continue serving as the voice of the industry – not just reporting events, but also helping to shape the rapidly growing and evolving education facilities and business market. AS&U delivers important insight to today’s decision makers” (AS&U’s official site).
The recognition highlights Gulph’s new technology center showcasing photos of the learning resource center, STE(A)M maker space, art and music instruction areas, and a “learning stair” intended for large group activities proximate to the classrooms. The classroom wings are structured as groupings of grade-appropriate classrooms with learning support, faculty spaces, and team work areas. Each set of grade clusters is oriented around the two-story media center and STE(A)M Center, connecting through the learning stair, which doubles as a mini presentation space for the building.
SG is pleased to receive recognition again from AS&U.
View the Digital Issue featuring Gulph Elementary here.
Learn more about Gulph Elementary here.
SCHRADERGROUP Attends and Receives an Award at the Annual AIA AAJ Conference in Jersey City
SCHRADERGROUP was honored to receive an award at the AIA AAJ Awards Luncheon held in Jersey City in October 2018.
The project that SCHRADERGROUP won the award jointly with AECOMD for was the State Emergency Operations Center, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). David Schrader of SCHRADERGROUP (SG) along with Steve Loomis and Amanda Chebalo of Aecom were pleased to accept a received a Justice Facilities Review Award at the AIA AAJ Awards ceremony.
The Team is especially honored to have had the opportunity to partner with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on this prestigious project.
You can read more about the PEMA building here.
SCHRADERGROUP Gives Thanks for 2018 and Welcomes the New Year
Time sure flies when you’re having fun!
Everyone at SCHRADERGROUP is grateful for all the opportunities and adventures that we’ve had over the past year. Let’s recap some of those great moments from 2018…
The SCHRADERGROUP Team
Early this year, our Lancaster office moved its location to the downtown area on East King Street, in the middle of all the action in Lancaster city.
We congratulated Eric Weiss and Kelly Ryan for becoming registered Architects in Pennsylvania as well as Jeff Rothermel for becoming a registered Structural Engineer. We welcomed back Paige Geldrich, our previous summer intern, as our newest Architectural Designer. We also recognized five years of dedication to SCHRADERGROUP (SG) from Principals, Harry Pettoni and Tom Forsberg, Architects, Eric Weiss and Kelly Ryan, and Marketing Associate, Rachel Dougherty.
Community Engagement
Senior Project Manager, Danielle V. Hoffer, generously lent her time and experience to Hatboro-Horsham School District by participating in their girls’ STEM talk, Blair Mill Elementary School’s “Tiny House” project, the School District’s Career Fair, the School District’s Statistic Fair and the School District’s Networking Event.
Project Manager and Architect, Dan D’Amico, visited Upper Merion Area School District’s elementary schools to discuss designing spaces for everyone (accessibility) and classrooms for the future.
Project Architect, Kelly Ryan, volunteered her time to help teach students how to cook with the Vetri Cooking Lab program.
Managing Partner, David Schrader, had the opportunity to talk to the students at Penn State’s Blue and White Society sharing his life and professional experiences as an Architect and managing his own firm. He also discussed sustainability with a panel of Doctoral Candidates at Arcadia University and published thoughts on “What We Understand About the Next Generation of Learning Environments” on our SG blog. He also published thoughts on “Changing the Face of Education” in Learning by Design Magazine.
Conferences and Events
The SG team made exciting new connections at various conferences and events we attended this year.
We enjoyed connecting with future architects and designers at PSU’s Stuckeman School’s Career Day—an event at which our attendance can always be counted on.
As always, we loved seeing familiar faces and meeting new people in the academic community at the PASBO, PSBA, A4LE, Maryland ASBO and DVASBO annual conferences.
We also enjoyed meeting and speaking with members of the Communications, Emergency Operations and the Law Enforcement communities during our exhibition and attendance at various Public Safety conferences including IACP, APCO, NSA and NENA.
Awards and Recognition
With tremendous support from our clients, we’re proud to announce a number of awards and recognition our projects have earned over the past year.
Phoenixville Area School District’s new Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School received four separate Outstanding Design awards from Learning by Design and American School & University magazines. For more detail, check out Learning by Design’s 2018 spring issue here and 2018 fall issue here; American School & University’s August issue and their November-December issue here.
Bristol Township School District’s Brookwood, Mill Creek, and Keystone Elementary Schools were featured in Sherwin William’s STIR magazine. STIR praised us for our ability to “create an inviting and beautiful environment that the District and its children are proud of.”
The State Emergency Operations Center that SG and AECOM designed and built together for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency also received an AIA AAJ Justice Facilities award from the American Institute of Architects. Further, South Korean delegates took a tour of the Emergency Operations Center to view its state-of-art technology and facility design.
We received word that a young student created a perspective painting of the Hayshire Elementary School that we previously designed for Central York School District. It’s wonderful to see our designs appreciated by students!
We were delighted to have our firm profile featured in Learning by Design’s summer issue as well as ranking #95 in Engineering News-Record MidAtlantic’s Top Design Firms of 2018 and ranking #38 in the Architect Magazine’s Top 50 Firms in Business.
David Schrader earned Fellowship recognition this year for his service with the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE). He also reflected on his time with A4LE and the organization’s international accomplishments in an article in Learning Spaces Magazine. Though David’s role as Chairman came to a close this past year, he remains an active, contributing member of A4LE and supports the new Chairman and Board Members in their mission to improve the environments in which children learn.
Beginnings and Next Chapters
We began a grand journey for the construction of Hatboro-Horsham School District’s Crooked Billet Elementary School, Springfield Township School District’s newest Early Learning Center with groundbreaking ceremonies as well as Springfield School District’s, in Delaware County, newest High School.
We welcomed the opening of Cherry Hill Elementary/Middle School with a Ribbon cutting with officials from Baltimore City Public Schools. We celebrated the completion of Upper Merion Area School District’s two new Elementary Schools: Caley and Gulph in King of Prussia. We finished construction of Council Rock School District’s newly renovated Holland Middle School. We are also proud to see the completion of the Phelps School Athletic Facility, renovations to Circle of Seasons Charter School, and the renovations to Palmyra Middle School.
We thank you for all the adventures we’ve had during 2018 and are excited for more opportunities in the new year!
From all of us at SCHRADERGROUP
Phoenixville Area Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School Receives an Outstanding Design Award from American School & University’s 2018 Architectural Portfolio Issue
SCHRADERGROUP (SG)’s Phoenixville Area Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School project received another Outstanding Design award from American School & University magazine. This time in the 2018 Architectural Portfolio, November-December issue.
“The nation’s school and university administrators, as well as education architects, turn to American School & University for how-to features, insight, industry exclusive reports and research on the planning, design, construction, retrofit, operations, maintenance, security and management of education facilities. AS&U’s mission is to continue serving as the voice of the industry – not just reporting events, but also helping to shape the rapidly growing and evolving education facilities and business market. AS&U delivers important insight to today’s decision makers.”
The Phoenixville Area Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School is located in Phoexniville Area School District in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The building was opened in 2017 and is a source of pride for the School District.
Read more about the PASD school here.
You can read the issue online here.
SCHRADERGROUP Receives an Award of “Outstanding Project” in Learning by Design’s Fall Issue for the Phoenixville Area School District’s Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School
Phoenixville Area School District (PASD)’s Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School received an Outstanding Project award in Learning by Design’s Fall issue.
“…the premier source for education design and innovation excellence. Published three times each year in April, June and October, this prestigious magazine recognizes the nation’s preeminent architectural firms by publishing outstanding pre-K to 12 and college/university projects.”
The new 152,000 SF Early Learning Center and Elementary School is designed to support two specific grade structures in a “school within a school” format: Grades K-1 in an Early Learning Center, and Elementary grades 2-5. The new building was opened in 2017 and has been very well received by the community.
A primary goal for the facility is to create a focus on literacy and learning in a non-standard learning environment. In response, the design places the media and technology center at the core of the facility with all other functions radiating from it. This balance of the building seeks to minimize circulation space by maximize the use of those areas as learning environment.
SG is proud to have partnered with PASD on this ground breaking project.
Read more and see more photos of the Phoenixville Area Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School here.
You can read the Learning by Design Fall issue here.
SCHRADERGROUP Receives AIA AAJ Award for Pennsylvania State Emergency Operations Center
SCHRADERGROUP is proud to announce that their recently completed project, the New State Emergency Operations Center for Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), has been selected as a recipient for the 2018 AIA AAJ Justice Facilities Review. The project was selected for publication based on its quality of form, functionality, and current architectural response to complex justice design issues. The AIA AAJ Justice Facilities Review jury commented, “The efficiencies of co-locating multiple agencies offers positive efficiencies. The building organization favors placing day-to-day activities along the perimeter, favoring light and view for those in the facility on a daily basis.”
SG, in a joint venture with AECOM Technology Corporation (AECOM), completed the new, approximately 145,000 SF State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) serving as a home for many of the State’s emergency response functions. In addition to ensuring the supply of continuous power and communication that is necessary for the SEOC, the design team provided a building that is reinforced and secure for emergency staff. The new facility provides dedicated emergency services and disaster assistance for the state, with the ability to sustain uninterrupted operations during activations.
In addition to the SEOC, the facility provides ergonomically-designed office space for all PEMA administrative departments, as well as partner organizations and integrated functions such as the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Traffic Management. The complex also supports a Tier 3 data center, media briefing, training facilities, and protected storage for PEMA operations vehicles.
Design for this facility follows sustainability guidelines, as understood by the US Green Building Council’s LEED certification process. PEMA has achieved a LEED certified rating. All programming, planning and site master planning preceding the design portion of the project also was completed by SG/AECOM.
The facility was a recipient of the same Justice Facilities Review award in 2014, prior to construction. The team is honored to receive an additional award for the completed project.
See more photos of the PEMA project here.
See the AIA AAJ Justice Facilities Review page here.
SCHRADERGROUP Receives an Outstanding Design Award in American School + University Magazine
SCHRADERGROUP (SG)’s Phoenixville Area Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School project received an Outstanding Design award from American School & University magazine in this Educational Interiors Showcase August issue.
“The nation’s school and university administrators, as well as education architects, turn to American School & University for how-to features, insight, industry exclusive reports and research on the planning, design, construction, retrofit, operations, maintenance, security and management of education facilities. AS&U’s mission is to continue serving as the voice of the industry – not just reporting events, but also helping to shape the rapidly growing and evolving education facilities and business market. AS&U delivers important insight to today’s decision makers.”
The Phoenixville Area Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School is located in Phoexniville Area School District in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The building was opened in 2017 and is a source of pride for the School District.
The new 152,000 SF Early Learning Center and Elementary School is designed to support two specific grade structures in a “school within a school” format: K-1 in an Early Learning Center, and 2-5 as an Elementary School. The building design promotes essentially every space in the facility as learning space. In addition to providing specific spaces for individual, small-, medium- and large-group learning, spaces traditionally used as corridors or hallways are designed to function as connectors and additional learning spaces.
SG takes great pride in the partnership it has with Phoenixville Area School District to provide such innovative learning environments for the students of the community.
Read more about the PASD school here.
You can read the issue online here.