Architecture firm hosted presentation by accomplished K-12 grant-writing consultant, author and public speaker with award-winning tips

HOUSTON, October 20, 2009 – Recognizing school districts are facing very challenging financial decisions in this current economic environment, SHW Group’s Houston studio hosted regional educators for a unique grant-writing presentation entitled ” School funding made easy: How to secure bond, stimulus and other dollars for your district.” Led by K-12 grant writing specialist Dr. Beverly Browning, the one-day seminar afforded grant writers, curriculum specialists, financial managers and facilities managers with critically needed writing skills and nearly four decades of award-winning tips to help their districts increase their funding success rates. Held at the design firm’s studio on 20 East Greenway Plaza, the free event attracted attendees from different school districts.

“At SHW, we are committed to enhancing learning by not only providing high-performance, sustainable design but by focusing on our clients’ unique challenges,” stated Mark Lam, AIA, LEED AP, managing principal for the Houston studio. “We understand what our clients are facing during this economic recession and their desire to secure stimulus dollars. And we are working diligently to provide them with every tool possible to assist them in securing financial stability for their respective districts.”

It’s estimated that billions of dollars in stimulus funding will be awarded via the state’s remaining bond funds and other competitive funding opportunities. This session improved the chances of the participants’ applications getting noticed and approved. The attendees also left with the knowledge of immediate and long-term funding options to achieve financial stability, direction on how to combine district facts with competitive writing approaches and writing direction on how to meet peer review evaluation criteria.

“The school funding workshop was an excellent program,” stated Karen Phillips, a secondary science teacher for the Fort Bend ISD. “I took away valuable information regarding how to secure funding for my district as well as tips about public relations and partnerships with local businesses. I would definitely like to attend additional training opportunities like this one in the future.”

For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

About Dr. Beverly A. Browning

Dr. Browning has been a grant writing consultant to K-12 school districts for nearly three decades. Her expertise has helped school districts win more than $150 million in grant awards from federal, state and private sectors. She is a sought-after speaker and has authored more than two dozen grants-related publications including Grant Writing for Educators and Perfect Phrases for Writing Grant Proposals.

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Media Contact: Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424

Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

Completed in 2008, SHW Group served as the architect for the $33 million center, which offers career-focused and technical “cross collaborative” education for 11th and 12th-grade students

PLANO, TEXAS, October 15, 2009 – Frisco Independent School District’s $33 million Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center, which opened in September 2008, has been honored with a 2009 Terrazzo Honor Award from the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association. One of 14 winners, the annual awards program honors the best terrazzo installations completed within the calendar year and are judged on excellence in craftsmanship, originality of ideas, intricacy of design, artistic and faithful reproduction of the architects’ or designers’ drawings, scope of work, and quality of construction materials. Plano-based SHW Group, one of the largest educational architecture firms in the U.S., served as the project architect.

Located at 9889 Wade Boulevard in Frisco, Texas, the 125,618-square-foot CTE Center is a facility where college-bound and career-bound 11th and 12th grade students engage in a cross-collaborative experience that merges real-world professional environments with educational programs.

“The Frisco CTE Center offers students a showcase to share specialized learning opportunities with each other and with their community,” said Trey Laird, AIA, LEED AP, principal in charge for SHW Group’s North Texas studio. “Light, space, materials, and technology are intertwined to create an experience for students that differentiate traditional notions of what a school can look like. The use of terrazzo flooring with recycled glass and mirror aggregate accentuate the notion of light as a compositional element throughout the facility, with a pattern that reinforces movement, exploration, and way finding throughout the building. The flooring selection also responds to the owner’s desire for a durable and low maintenance option with eye toward sustainability.”

As stated by the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association judging panel, “The CTE Center is the perfect marriage of traditional design and contemporary finishes. Naturally, the design team selected 3/8″ epoxy terrazzo with 100% recycled glass and porcelain as the highlighted flooring option. The focal point of the building is the illuminated vertical glass enclosure in the atrium area. To bring focus to this piece, the design team added terrazzo accents in the shape of rays in order to depict the energy of the piece radiating throughout the building. The multi-colored terrazzo patterns in the corridors speak to the kinetic energy of the building brought about by the natural hustle and bustle of numerous students negotiating the hallways. In addition to the terrazzo floor, the design utilized coved poured in place terrazzo wainscot, precast terrazzo tread and riser pieces, as well as a monumental stair featuring 3″ thick precast terrazzo treads finished on all four sides. Ultimately, the overall sparkling terrazzo in this facility will create an everlasting impression on anyone who enters.”

For more information about SHW Group, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL TERAZZO AND MOSAIC ASSOCIATION

The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association annually conducts an awards program to honor member contractors for executing exceptional terrazzo work. Projects are judged on the basis of quality of workmanship, design, and creativity. The judging process is completely nonbiased, and conducted by a panel of terrazzo experts and architects who are not made aware of the contractor or location of each job they are evaluating. Every year the Honor Awards competition produces terrazzo installations of exceptional quality, incredible design intricacy, and unbelievable beauty. These stellar terrazzo floors are the result of superior workmanship, precise attention to detail, sensitive artistic ability and thoughtful ingenuity.

The Honor Awards exist because of the architectural and design community. The professionals who specified the terrazzo in these projects should be congratulated for their contribution to the sustainability of each building featured, the low lifecycle costs incurred by the floor, and the enduring artwork of the finish. Each of these floors will last the life of the building, and provide a beautiful finish to all who walk upon them. For more information, please visit www.ntma.com.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

SHW Group designed the 200,000-square-foot Michael R. Null Middle School which will accommodate more than 1,000 students

HOUSTON, October 14, 2009 - The new 200,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Michael R. Null Middle School has officially opened in time for the 2009-2010 academic school year. The three-level, “green” school is the second middle school in the Sheldon Independent School District, one of the fastest-growing school districts in Harris County and the greater-Houston area. SHW Group’s Houston studio, one of the world’s largest educational architecture and design firms, served as the project’s architect.  Houston-based Dyad Construction served as the project’s general contractor.

Located on a 100-acre site at 12117 Garrett Road in Houston, SHW’s design of the modern “Texas-themed” middle school embodies specialized solutions to both issues of size and style.  Completed in August 2009, the school addresses the district’s steadily growing population and was designed to accommodate more than 1,000 students. In addition, its cafeteria, gym, library, media center and other facilities are large enough to accommodate an additional 500 students when required. This adaptable design will permit the middle school to expand as its student body grows, saving the district the cost of excessive building now and reducing the need for an entirely new school later.

“Sheldon I.S.D. has a vision that students learn in smaller groups; therefore the student capacity is divided into two learning houses,” said Chris Hinton, studio coordinator and project manager for SHW Group. “Each house is divided into three levels separating sixth, seventh and eighth grades providing for a comfortable and secure environment that encourages students to get to know their immediate faculty and inspire learning and confidence as the student progresses in age.”

Sheldon ISD also wanted a building that honored Texas history and style. Using traditional inspiration and modern design, the school has a uniquely personalized feel. Believing that “instruction should drive the construction,” SHW’s design for the school was based on an old Texas town square where storefronts flanked a central gathering space — either a courtyard or gazebo — and an adjacent railroad that delivered people and supplies to each town.  The plan has two “houses” or communities located to the east and the west of a central courtyard representing the adjacent storefronts, while the “gazebo” or LGI (Large Group Instruction) located in the courtyard is attached to the main building for larger meetings.  The railroad is represented by an aluminum canopy cutting through the courtyard that connects the north and south areas of the building. Where a railroad typically travels through a small town, SHW placed this main walkway so that the common spaces and assembly areas could be reached with ease.

“Michael R. Null Middle School is as ‘modern Texas’ as you can get. From its range of tans and browns representing the Texas soils and longhorns to its burnt orange brick color and the Texas yellow sunset that beams down the middle of the cafeteria ceiling, this school does a stunning job of representing the Lone Star State,” added Hinton.

Designed with sustainable principles in mind, Null Middle School incorporates several green features, including daylighting, high-quality acoustics and technology, and low-emitting materials, all of which further promotes a productive learning environment. The district’s desire to connect students with nature via exterior views worked well with the school’s daylighting strategy, as multiple classrooms and other learning spaces feature floor-to-ceiling windows that are oriented to offer students views of the outdoors, as well as receive maximum daylighting. This daylighting will also result in a reduction of energy consumption and costs by greater reliance on natural light and also improved student performance. In addition, large flexible open spaces — such as a raised platform in the central courtyard that is used for multiple purposes such as outdoor teaching and musical performances — were designed to promote collaboration and gathering and also serve as social learning spaces.

Linoleum flooring was also used throughout the school, which is created from natural raw materials, contains virtually no trace of toxic materials, and is naturally beneficial to air quality. With linoleum and ceramic tile flooring used throughout the building, the new middle school is a no-wax building helping with maintenance costs.  In addition, masonry, ceramic tile, and exposed wood decking all add to the warmth, sustainability and appeal of the facility.

Sheldon I.S.D students, staff and faculty could not be more thrilled with the building and believe that all aspects of sustainability, design and educational appropriateness have been achieved and that the design of the building will help students be educated through smaller instructional communities and through great design.

For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424

SHW Group designed the $35 million project, which is seeking LEED Silver certification

DETROIT, October 7, 2009 - SHW Group has recently completed Wayne State University’s Richard J. Mazurek, M.D., Medical Education Commons, comprised of a 34,000-square-foot addition of the existing medical school facility and a 69,000-square-foot renovation of the existing Vera Parshall Shiffman Medical Library, both of which are connected via an elevated and enclosed walkway. Wayne State’s School of Medicine is the largest single-campus and third largest medical school in the nation. This three-story complex creates a new image and identity for both the WSU School of Medicine and the Vera Parshall Shiffman Medical Library.

The new Medical Education Commons is the heart of the school and features state-of-the-science technology. The addition creates a physical and programmatic bridge between the two component facilities and complements the urban fabric with a dynamic and enduring design. The facility includes a clinical skills center with four simulation labs, new computer labs and a testing center. Additional spaces include student services, classrooms, collaborative study areas and a ‘Super-Service’ desk for the public and students, as well as administrative offices and related support functions. The ‘FLEX’ classroom frames the new front door of the medical school. This highly collaborative learning environment is planned around a large, flexible open space with small breakout pods along the perimeter.

At the June 5, 2009, grand opening, Robert Frank, M.D., executive vice dean of the medical school, said, “There is no finer, contemporary state-of-the-science medical education facility than the Mazurek. We will train more and better physicians because of it. And we will do so in a facility that is aesthetically pleasing and friendly to the environment. This building is full of glass and light and says welcome to the community of scholars, physicians, students and patients.”

The Shiffman Medical Library renovation provides state-of-the-art library facilities for end users, staff and the collection. The library underwent extensive renovations and design planning to improve its overall performance, efficiency and ease of use.

Remarked Sandra Yee, dean of university libraries for Wayne State University, “The Mazurek Medical Education Commons has provided the WSU library system with the opportunity to create a 21^st century medical library that will anticipate and meet the needs of our users. We are thrilled to be able to open the doors to this new and comprehensive information resource.”

The project possesses many sustainable features, including the use of energy-efficient HVAC equipment, CFC-free refrigerants, low-water-use plumbing fixtures, high-efficiency lighting and commissioning, and it is seeking LEED silver certification.

“The Education Commons project complements the urban fabric with its dynamic and enduring design,” said Janice Suchan, principal in charge of the project for SHW Group.

ABOUT SHW GROUP

SHW Group, LLC a Michigan-based architectural and engineering firm is one of the state’s leading educational design firms. More than just an A/E firm, the company is known for its comprehensive collaboration with educators, and researchers to design innovative facilities that support the learning process. For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

ABOUT WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students. For more information, visit www.wayne.edu.

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Media Contacts: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424