December, 2011
Philadelphia district wins a green-schools award
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
A superintendent best remembered for the way she got paid?
Try this one: On Monday, Philadelphia will be named the nation’s No. 1 urban school district when it comes to making schools sustainable.
And no, we’re not talking about solar-powered metal detectors. Picture buildings whose designs save energy, conserve natural resources, and provide an environment, as Manny Ortiz, a junior at Kensington’s Creative and Performing Arts High School, put it, “that makes me for the first time want to show off my school.”
The district has won the top award from the U.S. Building Council’s Center for Green Schools, whose director, Rachel Gutter, described the city’s accomplishment as “amazing.”
“I’ve been to hundreds of schools across the country,” she said, “and it was not a difficult choice to put Philadelphia at the top of this list.” The district didn’t win the inaugural competition for what Gutter likes to call “eco-bling,” investments in solar panels and wind turbines that take a long time to show a return.
“What makes Philadelphia’s efforts really smart,” she said, “is that they’re really focused on things that will immediately make the biggest difference for the environment as well as the students’ and teachers’ health. So they’re looking at things like green cleaning products, increased amounts of daylight.”
The district, she said, has been turning heads with new construction as well as renovations of its older buildings. Last week, the makeover of the Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Olney won recognition from her organization for meeting the highest standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Among the school’s upgrades: no more wet-mop buckets. “Every mop is a microfiber mop,” said Michael Pavelsky, the project’s sustainability consultant. The lawn mowers and weed trimmers run on rechargeable batteries. Bringing in more fresh air throughout the day, he said, “keeps people from being sleepy.”
Another showplace is Ortiz’s school in Kensington, which opened two years ago on a weedy, trash- and tire-pocked lot. Compared to his former school, “this is bright, and there’s more room,” he said. “We’re able to move from class to class without getting crushed in the halls.”
He and special-ed teacher Joshua Kleiman gave a tour Thursday, pointing out green roofs whose native plants hold rainwater and spare the city’s overloaded sewer system. Rain that falls on the gym is stored in two cisterns that provide the water used to flush the toilets. The insulation is so tight the architects were able to place the performance spaces in the front of the building, across Front Street from the tracks of the El, whose trains pass with a dull roar.
A $1 million grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection went toward a geothermal cooling system that required digging 96 wells as deep as 500 feet. The temperature that far down is moderate, Kleiman said, around 60 degrees, which requires less energy to produce heat and air-conditioning. Over the life of the $44 million building, the green measures are expected to lower utility costs by one third.
Is it a coincidence that students at the neighborhood high school met adequate yearly progress goals in reading and math this year for the first time? Not according to those who advocate going green.
“Healthy, high-performing buildings help create healthy, high-performing kids,” said Janet Milkman, executive director of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. “And if a fiscally struggling school district with a large population of low-income kids can invest in green practices, anyone can.”
December, 2011
The biggest excavation project in Philadelphia history
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
The biggest excavation project in Philadelphia history is taking place in West Philadelphia.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is spending $150 million preparing part of the old Civic Center site for an outpatient-care center that will sit on top of a five-story underground parking garage. The pediatric medical center’s expansion plans for ambulatory care, however, extend far beyond the city.
In an interview last week, CHOP President and CEO Dr. Steven Altschuler said in order to thrive under health-care reform, through which the government is shifting from a fee-for-service to risk-based model of paying providers, the hospital is planning to …
September, 2011
Penn Park creates more room for fun and games
By Greg Johnson
The 24 acres of Penn Park will bring much needed green space to the University’s athletic teams-intercollegiate, as well as intramurals and club sports.
Michael J. Diorka, associate athletic director/facility management, says he worked closely with Facilities and Real Estate Services, the Turner Construction Company and architects of record Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates to bring the athletic facilities to fruition.
Special attention was given to nearly every small detail, from selecting special turf, to securing netting, backstops, padding and the type of infill mixes used.
Ace Adams Field, located at the eastern-most portion of Penn Park, is designed to accommodate soccer and lacrosse. Named for former Penn Lacrosse Coach James “Ace” Adams, it is the first-ever field at Penn to be named after a coach.
The Dunning-Cohen Champions’ Field and its inflatable air structure covering provides the University with additional training space for outdoor programs and an inclement weather practice facility. The field honors James Dunning, Jr., a Penn alumnus, co-chair of the Campaign for Penn Athletics and member of the Athletics Board of Overseers, and the late Claudia Cohen, a 1972 Penn alumna. The gift was given in her honor by her brother, James.
Diorka says the inflatable air structure, which will cover the field entirely, will allow the space to become Penn Athletics’ indoor practice facility during the cold winter months. Prior to Penn Park, the University had no winter practice facility.
The air structure “goes over [Dunning-Cohen Champions' Field] beginning Nov. 1 and comes down the third week of March,” Diorka says. “It’s about 73 feet high at its midpoint. It’s all lit.”
The Clay W. Hamlin Outdoor Tennis Center doubles the number of available courts from six to 12. It is named after Clay Hamlin III, a Wharton graduate and member of the Athletics Board of Overseers.
The yet-to-be-named softball field includes expansive dugouts, a press box, increased seating and a synthetic, all-weather turf outfield.
Michael Reno, associate director of structured sport at PennRec, says Penn Park will also be a boon to intramural sports, allowing for expanded activities such as flag football, Ultimate Frisbee, World Cup Soccer and kickball. Reno says the space will allow for the return of softball, which was discontinued two years ago with the loss of Bower Field.
For club sports, Reno says Penn Park offers better practice space and an opportunity to host home competitions. It also permits the University to host larger events, such as regional and national tournaments. Before Penn Park, some Penn clubs had to play off campus in places like Fairmount Park, he says.
The inflatable air structure enables the University to increase the length of some of its intramural programs. Previously, intramural soccer would start directly after Spring Break, permitting only six weeks of play before the end of the semester, time that was frequently cut even further by April showers.
“Now with the bubble, we’re able to start soccer in February and hopefully with that, we’ll be able to attract more teams, more participants and really expand in the number of games that teams usually get,” Reno says.
Diorka notes that the view of the city skyline from Penn Park, day and night, is outstanding. “It’s almost like being in a major league park,” he says
August, 2011
Race Street Pier
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC ) along with Mayor Nutter officially opened the new Race Street Pier, the first new public space of its kind on the Central Delaware River Waterfront to be realized as part of DRWC’s ambitious new Master Plan for the Central Delaware River Waterfront. The Pier was designed to create a strong physical experience that reconnects the City to the River, activates the water’s edge and establishes the pier as a distinctive new public park for the people of Philadelphia. Formerly Municipal Pier 11, the pier was renamed as the Race Street Pier to further reinforce its relationship to the City and reinstate its historic name.
“This spectacular public space is the next step forward in building a world-class waterfront in Philadelphia,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “I want to thank the many community leaders and funders who have worked with us to bring this project to fruition. We are now creating a waterfront that will be enjoyed by generations of Philadelphians to come.”
Construction of the original Race Street Pier began in 1896 including a large building built on two levels to serve different functions; the lower level for shipping and the upper level for recreation. As a nod to its past, the physical design of the new pier is split into two levels – an upper level with a grand sky promenade and a lower level for passive recreation and social gathering. A dramatic ramp rises twelve feet into the air along the north face of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, dramatizing the sense of arriving in the space of the river through a forced one-point perspective and allowing for rare views back to the City. A sun-filled lower terrace supports a multi-purpose lawn, planting beds and seating. The two levels are linked by a generous seating terrace that wraps around the end of the pier and amplifies the sense of magic associated with being on the edge.
“The new Race Street Pier, surrounded on three sides by water, allows people to experience the power of the water and the majesty of the Delaware River in a dramatic and personal way,” said Tom Corcoran, president of DRWC. “We could not have picked a better project to demonstrate the quality of what is to come on the Delaware River Waterfront.”
The Race Street Pier will be an integral part of a series of open space improvements proposed every half-mile along the central Delaware as part of the new Master Plan for the Central Delaware. Funding for new park has been provided by The City of Philadelphia, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, William Penn Foundation, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (Coastal Zone Management) and a challenge grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Race Street Pier will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. during the upcoming summer season. Park rules will prohibit the use of skateboards, skates or recreational scooters. Motorized vehicles, commercial activity or solicitations, special events, assemblies, performances and amplified sound, as well as drinking alcohol will all require special permits. Dogs will be required to be on a leash and owners will be asked to pick up after them.
DRWC is also providing FREE 4G WiMAX Internet access for the Race Street Pier enabling all visitors to enjoy on-the-go Internet access at no charge.
May, 2011
Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts Honored with LEED Platinum Certification
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
The School District of Philadelphia has committed to building green schools that reduce consumption of water, energy, and natural resources, while providing a superior learning environment for students and staff. Indication of the District’s dedication to such efforts was seen today at Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, as the school was honored for achieving Platinum level certification under the LEED for Schools Rating System version 2.0.
On its path towards platinum certification, Kensington High School for Creative and Performing Arts transformed from a brown field, previously contaminated from the mid-1800′s when the site was utilized as the Frankford Railroad depot to a state of the art sustainable school that incorporates large areas of vegetated open space, is 21% more energy efficient, and boasts 33% less in utility costs.
Most importantly, the sustainable features of Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts have created an optimal teaching and learning environment in which classrooms and core learning spaces have improved acoustics, and 96% of classroom and core learning spaces achieve a 2% daylight factor.
Recent studies have shown that increased day lighting in classrooms creates a more productive learning environment for children. Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts sets a fantastic example for other area schools as the 1st LEED Platinum High School in the United States, the 1st LEED Platinum High School in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the 21st LEED Platinum school in the United States, as well as the 3rd LEED School in the School District of Philadelphia. Mayor Nutter, who attended the event spoke about Kensington’s honor saying, “I’m extremely proud to have the first LEED Platinum High School in the United States in our city,” and went on to share that “Kensington CAPA’s achievement is a fine example of how Philadelphia as a whole can become a healthier city by maintaining sustainable schools and businesses.”
April, 2011
I-78 EASTBOUND RESTORED TO THREE TRAVEL LANES AT SITE OF FRIDAY NIGHT ROCK SLIDE
All Lanes to Remain Operational for Monday Morning Commute
EASTON, PA.
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission today announced that three eastbound I-78 travel lanes will be available for Monday morning’s commuter rush after a series of short-term corrective measures were completed Saturday evening at the site of a rock slide that caused an emergency closure of a portion of the busy interstate highway on Friday night.
“We reached a level of confidence with the situation late Saturday, enabling us to open all three eastbound travel lanes much sooner than we originally anticipated,” said Frank G. McCartney, the Commission’s executive director. “As of right now, Lehigh Valley residents should have clear sailing when driving to jobs in New Jersey and New York during Monday morning’s commute on eastbound I-78.”
The Commission reopened the eastbound right lane of I-78 in Williams Township, Pa. at roughly 9 p.m. Saturday after workers completed a series of corrective measures that began earlier in the day. The work involved removal of debris – including rocks, soil and trees – from the roadway, and installation of a 120-foot-long construction barrier between the right lane and shoulder.
The roadside barrier will serve as a secondary “catch” system in the unlikely event of another rock slide at the location; a permanent barrier already is in place between the shoulder and the rock cliff that stands to the roadway’s south side. The newly installed secondary barrier will remain in place for several days until the effect of rain on the nearby slope is further assessed.
Saturday’s corrective actions were performed by A.P. Construction of Philadelphia, Pa., which swiftly mobilized personnel and equipment from the site of a construction project that is underway at Commission bridge location – the Delaware Water Gap (I-80) Toll Bridge Express E-ZPass/Open Road Tolling Project. A.P. Construction has familiarity with the I-78 location; it constructed the Express E-ZPass facility at the Commission’s nearby I-78 Toll Plaza last year.
The rockslide occurred at mile marker 77 on the eastbound approach to the Commission’s I-78 Toll Bridge at approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday. The location is roughly a half mile from the bridge, part of the Commission’s 6.4-mile I-78 jurisdiction, which extends from the Morgan Hill Road Interchange in Pennsylvania to the Still Valley Interchange in New Jersey.
No vehicles were damaged and nobody was injured as a result of the Friday night rockslide. Pennsylvania State Police and Commission personnel closed the right lane, limiting eastbound travel in the area to two lanes on Friday night and through much of Saturday.