American Architectural Foundation and Mayors’ Institute on City Design Hold First School Design Institute

Mayors and Superintendents from Four Major American Cities Attend and Seek Innovative Solutions for Their Schools

August 24, 2005

WASHINGTON — Mayors, school superintendents, and other officials from four U.S. cities met with architects and design experts to brainstorm and discuss creative solutions to the school facility challenges they face, as part of the first School Design Institute held here July 20-22, 2005.

The School Design Institute, a joint initiative of the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) and the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, included officials from Bridgeport, Connecticut; Manchester, New Hampshire; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and St. Louis, Missouri. The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts that is administered by AAF and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

At this unprecedented event, mayors, superintendents, and other officials presented real case studies from their cities for group discussion, and were briefed on the latest thinking in school design and planning. Central to the conversations was a resource team specializing in architecture, urban planning, and environmental design who provided feedback, innovative suggestions, and commentary on creating successful schools.

The case studies presented during the Institute covered a broad range of topics, all brought to the table by the cities themselves:

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Superintendent Creg Williams of St. Louis raised the question of how to create schools that serve as “centers of community” – reaching out to neighborhood resources, engaging local residents, and creating neighborhoods where children can walk to school. One of Mayor Slay’s goals is to create a network of parks, recreation centers, and after school programs that children and residents can use and enjoy.
Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi and Superintendent John Ramos investigated new approaches to building schools through community engagement, shared facilities, adaptive reuse, and other strategies. Their hope is to create schools that help stitch back together the fabric of their communities and create inviting spaces for families of all backgrounds.
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and Superintendent Bob Moore engaged the committee on the topic of creating an urban, downtown elementary school that could rely on the existing resources of the city itself. They pondered the ways in which a dynamic urban environment and the varied experiences it offers can help bolster a student’s educational experience.
Manchester Mayor Robert Baines and Superintendent Michael Ludwell explored the possibilities for creating a new downtown school that would serve the growing immigrant populations in the city center. Manchester’s case study also presented questions about the adaptive reuse of existing buildings and examined the possibilities of expanding the “campus” of a school through agreements with existing neighborhood resources.
“In my 35 years in education, this is the first collaborative discussion I’ve seen about the design challenges that we face,” said Bob Moore, Superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools. “The rich feedback we’ve received from experts and our counterparts in other cities has been invaluable. The holistic approach to school design and educational issues in these meetings is unique.”

Pam Loeffelman, AIA, an architect on the resource team, reflected on her experience, “The Institute was an effective first step in illustrating to city leadership that schools must be designed to acknowledge their overall context beyond the specifics of the site in order to better leverage the investment. Prescriptive solutions where one size fits all can no longer be the norm.”

The School Design Institute, modeled after the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, is an important part of AAF’s national school design initiative, Great Schools by Design. The program was created in response to the growing recognition that mayors and school leaders are seeking more constructive and creative ways to invest the almost $30 billion being spent annually on school construction and renovation in the United States.

As Ron Bogle, president and CEO of AAF stated, “The School Design Institute provides local officials with the opportunity to collaborate with each other and design experts – sharing ideas and best practices. We look forward to hosting many more of these events in the coming years.”

Mayor John Fabrizi of Bridgeport added, “Working with other mayors, superintendents, and experts has been a great experience for our team, and should prove beneficial to the health and welfare of our community.”

Participants in the School Design Institute included:

Bridgeport, Connecticut
John Fabrizi, Mayor of the City of Bridgeport
Dr. John Ramos, Superintendent of Bridgeport Schools
George Estrada, Director of Public Facilities
Jack Butkus, Executive Director of Operations

Manchester, New Hampshire
Robert Baines, Mayor of the City of Manchester
Dr. Michael Ludwell, Superintendent of Manchester School District
Timothy Clougherty, Chief Facilities Manager

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mick Cornett, Mayor of the City of Oklahoma City
Bob Moore, Superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools
Eric Wenger, Program Manager, MAPS for Kids

St. Louis, Missouri
Francis Slay, Mayor of the City of St. Louis
Dr. Creg Willilams, Superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools
Robbyn Wahby, Executive Assistant for Education Policy

Resource Team

Facilitator: Ron Bogle, President and CEO, American Architectural Foundation
Constance Beaumont, State of Oregon, Salem, Oregon
Thomas Blurock, FAIA, Thomas Blurock Architects, Costa Mesa, California
Hillary Brown, AIA, New Civic Works, New York, New York
Kerry Leonard, AIA, OWP&P Architects, Chicago, Illinois
Pam Loeffelman, AIA, Perkins Eastman Architects, Stamford, Connecticut
Robert Peck, Hon. AIA, President, Greater Washington Board of Trade, Washington, DC
Roy Strickland, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Founding partners for Great Schools by Design are the American Architectural Foundation, Herman Miller, Inc., and McGraw-Hill Construction. With AAF, KnowledgeWorks Foundation is the co-convener of the National Summit on School Design and a partner on the Great Schools by Design video series. Additional funding partners include: Cisco Systems, Inc., National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Institute of Architects. Alliance partners include: American Association of School Administrators • American Federation of Teachers • Council of the Great City Schools • National Association of Elementary School Principals • National Association of Secondary School Principals • National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities • National Education Association • National School Boards Association • U.S. Conference of Mayors.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATION
The American Architectural Foundation (AAF) is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that educates individuals and communities about the power of architecture to transform lives and improve the places where we live, learn, work, and play. AAF’s programs include: Mayors’ Institute on City Design and Great Schools by Design – highly regarded initiatives that help improve the built environment through the collaboration of thought leaders, designers, and local communities. Through its outreach programs, grants, exhibitions, and educational resources, the American Architectural Foundation helps people become thoughtful and engaged stewards of the world around them. For more information, please visit www.archfoundation.org.

Contact:
Helen Wechsler
(202) 626-7372
hwechsler@archfoundation.org