Architects for the Broad School in Saba, to be located in Troy Hill presented three concept designs to all stakeholders involved, during a presentation in the Court Room in the Administration Building on Wednesday.
Present at the presentation were the Island Governor Jonathan Johnson, Commissioner of Education Chris Johnson, Head of the Education, Hemmie Van Xanten, representatives for design contractor HESCON, Architects Raymond Vigil, and Donald Williams, representatives for both school boards, and representative of the Education Department of the RCN. The Broad School will encompass the daycare center, the elementary school and the high school in one location.
In his opening remarks Commissioner Johnson indicated that most of the time projects are developed using a top down approach and this time all stakeholders are involved very early in the project in order to make it a community project.
Architect Raymond Vigil commenced the presentation by pointing out that the major considerations for the layout and design of the school was the topography of the available land, and the need to maximize the flow of prevailing winds to ensure that the buildings are well ventilated so that the use of air conditioning for cooling can be minimized. Another important factor will be the road that will be built at the as this will influence how the hillside will be cut. The architect said that features that are preferred in one design can be incorporated in another.
The first concept presented, Scheme A, features an imposing multipurpose gym that will be the situated at the entrance of the building, and the classrooms will be set back in the property, so that the public can be accommodated at the community library and in the gym which can double as a auditorium, to hold 400- 500 persons. The day care is offset from the rest of the school with its own secure access.
Scheme B, which is similar in size and scope to Scheme A, in which the gym is set back from the entrance and the classrooms are better ventilated because of their location on the property and there is a common playground for the elementary and high school. The daycare will have its own covered playground.
Scheme C is much more compartmentalized, with each school separated, having its own sections.
The architects presented two different design concepts for the facades of the buildings; one was a more industrialized version and the other incorporated traditional Saban architecture.
A common feature for all schemes is that there will be fresh and gray water cisterns integrated in the design. Alternative energy sources, such as wind turbines and solar panels, will play a prominent role in order to minimize the costs of supplying electricity to the building.
Architect Raymond Vigil of Vigil Associates, specializes in designing schools, especially in small communities having worked in many Native American schools in New Mexico and Arizona.