Career and Technology Center in Frisco, Texas wins National 2009 Terrazzo Honor Award
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
