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Kasavan Architects Awarded for Innovative School Design
Schooldesigner.com honors Salinas firm for Gilroy High School Student Services Center
As part of the First Annual Design "Collabetition," architectural design firms had their unique school designs evaluated and judged by a panel of adult professionals. Students in grades K-12 from all over the United States also served as jurors, because SchoolDesiger.com believes students, who put the designs to the test on a daily basis, can best judge if a design is practical for its intended use, stimulates the learning experience, and is just bottom-line "cool."
Kasavan Architects was awarded the Silver Award in the Students Love It category for the Gilroy student center's minimal transition concept. The concept was to create a marquis building with distinctive volume, massing and materials. The design featured a roof with wings extending over a patio, giving the building a monumental stature while serving to protect the students from rain the hot Gilroy sun.
"Instead of simply making the dining room a big box in order to fill such a large demand, the school effectively provided the students with an indoor/outdoor area that is both spacious and homey," said Thomas McConnell, a 12th grader from Virginia.
The Kasavan design also received the High Tech Bronze Award from the adult panel for minimizing the sense of transition from the exterior to the interior by the full height glazing and bi-folding doors that provide wide comfortable access to the interior. Juror Susan Meixsell, a school superintendent from Pennsylvania, "loved that the space offered flexibility to adapt well to the educational best practices and the incredible speed at which technology changes."
Kasavan Architects held meetings with Gilroy High School students, parents, and community leaders to gather input on the design of the student center. "We are very proud of this building. We're even more proud of the fact that the toughest critics, the kids, found it cool and appreciated the design," said Peter Kasavan, principal of Kasavan Architects.
Completed in May 2006, the Gilroy High School Student Services Center has become a symbol of community enthusiasm and pride, and is in great demand as a meeting place for school and community performances and functions.
Kasavan Architects, established in 1949, specializes in the design of K-12 schools, community colleges, public buildings, and commercial building types. The firms has received many awards for its projects, including an Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects Monterey Bay Chapter for the National Steinbeck Center, a Grand Award from the National Commercial Builders Council for the Grain Tower building in Salinas, and an Award of Merit from the Coalition for Adequate School Housing and American Institute of Architects for the Gilroy Unified School District Student Center Building. For more information, please call 831.424.2232.