Gorgeous “green” spaces

Updates and facelifts around campus continue and include the completion of the Simms Reception Room and the Adalman Gallery.

The reception room is used for everything from class meetings, conferences, parent socials, and presentations. A new projection screen, refinished walls, beautiful curtains, and new doors to the refinished balcony will greet guests next time they visit.

The Adalman Gallery is the primary exhibition space for Upper School art students and an occasional exhibition space for Lower and Middle School art students.

Not only are these spaces beautiful, they were designed with sustainable components. Sustainable design is integrated into many areas of the renovation process focusing on water efficiency, energy efficiency, recycled and renewable materials, and safer low-emitting materials.
The design incorporates bamboo in both millwork paneling in the Dining Room and flooring in the Gallery and the Administrative Corridors on both levels.  The panels in the gallery are made from linseed and cork, both renewable resources.
High energy efficient fluorescent and LED fixtures were installed and the design increases the use of natural daylight with Solatubes® in the kitchen area and a large skylight in the main entrance.

Finishing touches in the main entry

Sunny vestibule

sun lit

stairs

balcony

it is all coming together!

Two Weeks of Delicious Meals!

The Dining Room has been open for two weeks! Monday’s Spirit Week DJ rocked out with our new speaker system, the Simms Reception Room has hosted several meetings, and the walls of the Adalman Gallery are displaying their first student art. The Fathers Club Lounge is looking fabulous and we can't wait to have meetings there! 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Administrative Building updates

Administrative building renovation continues. The main entry balcony is taking shape.

Sneak peek at the installation of the new stairs!

The lower level hallway is almost complete and the new offices for the Admissions Team and Business Office are looking great. The flooring is going in and architectural details are being added.

Anyone recognize the columns? We have incorporated parts of Holton’s past into the design by replicating the S Street campus doorway.  Originally located in downtown Washington, D.C., at 2125 S Street NW, the School moved to Bethesda, Md. in 1963.

 

The Girls Get a Sneak Peek!

Hooray! We have all but one inspection in hand and are on target to open the Dining Room, kitchen, Simm’s Reception Room and second floor hallway on Monday, September 17!

The girls got a surprise sneak peek this morning into the space. Streamers, music, and blue and white donuts greeted them as the Middle and Upper Schoolers excitedly entered their new dining space. The Lower School girls will get a tour this afternoon when they return from the Lower School Reading Celebration.

In the coming weeks, you can expect to see:

•               The temporary carpet in the upstairs corridor and Adalman Gallery replaced with eco-friendly bamboo flooring

•               Additional light fixtures added in Simms and the corridor

•               New doors installed throughout the spaces

•               Various other “fixes” and final touches

We will have an official grand opening when the full project is complete. Although we will begin serving all meals in the dining room next week, it will take a day or two for the kitchen to be running at full capability. 

Thank you for your continued patience and excitement!

Getting ready,

sneak peak,

handing out blue & white beads,

here they come...

seniors first!

Check out the new dining room:

new serving area:

dishwasher conveyor belt:

Celebration!

 

Front entry

Due to the permitting delays in the administrative building, the work on the Front Entry is still a few weeks behind the Dining Room and kitchen. We will open the second floor corridor before all work has been completed in order to have an indoor route from the Middle and Upper Schools to the Dining Room and Lower School. This corridor will open with temporary carpet flooring, which will be replaced with the permanent, eco-friendly bamboo flooring upon the completion of the redesigned front staircases. Once the front entrance is complete in mid-October, the first and second floors will connect again! 

Ceiling framing in the dining room

View of the front entrance and demolished stairs from the second floor

New doors from the dining room to the terrace being installed

Progress!

With the permit in hand for the administrative building, a lot of progress was made last week! The exterior bricks were removed from the Front Entry and the work crew is prepping the area for full enclosure. The left-hand staircase has been completely removed and the right one is in progress (as you can see in the pictures). How funny that a major piece of demolition equipment could be driven right through the front door! The contractors are doing everything possible to make up for the delay in getting the permit. We are not yet sure what the impact will be on the timeline but we will continue to post updates as we have them. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

The structural work and waterproofing on the terrace is complete. Contractors are now adding the “finishes”: redoing the brick pillars and guardrails and preparing the terrace surface for new pavers. Underneath the terrace in the Advancement corridor, the wall damage has been repaired and the new windows are in; they may look the same as the old windows, but they are fully insulated.

The Dining Room is currently a staging area for deliveries; the crates pictured are full of the framing, windows, and doors that will lead out to the terrace. These should be installed in the next couple of days. The electricians are above the ceiling doing the wiring for the lights, speaker system, and presentation screen. The walls are now taped and ready to be finished once the ceiling goes up. They are making progress on the wall tile—the photo shows server walls—and we are pleased with the new pattern. You can see the new curved wall framing the doorway leading to the Lower School. The curve shifts the door slightly into the room so that the door no longer swings into the path of students using the stairway. 

Full Speed Ahead!

We received our permit for the administration building, which means we are full speed ahead on the whole project! Demolition has already started on the Front Entry to prepare for the expansion of the vestibule and the reconfiguration of the staircase. This week, they will be knocking down the stairs, taking out the field stone, and removing the ceilings.

See the full gallery on Posterous

In the kitchen and Dining Room, drywall is starting to go up on the frames and tile is being attached to finish the walls. The dish return is really taking shape (see photo)! The final plumbing permit arrived for the Dining Room on Friday, so the walls can be closed and finishes applied. The ceiling framework is also up in the serving area; you can see the circular grid for the metal ceiling in that area in the photos. The renovation crew is finishing up the fireproofing of the ceiling structure and will finish the electrical and mechanical infrastructure work in the Dining Room this week. Solar tubes for natural light have been delivered but have not yet been installed.