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Center for Lifelong Learning – A look back after five years of service to children with autism

In the fall of 2009 a new school for special children opened in Sayreville, New Jersey. Constructed by the Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission and funded by the Middlesex County Improvement Authority along with the vision of the County Freeholders, the school was a “first of its kind” on several levels.
Architecting Insights

Do Accessibility Regulations Actually Give Accessibility?

Today, USA Architects held an in-house seminar and hands-on demonstration of the accessibility regulations. Several of us spent time in a wheelchair, attempting to navigate around our office. The results were both awkward and eye opening.
Architecting Insights

What you THOUGHT you knew about real Slate

Allow me to describe to all of you what is currently occurring on several of our projects, regarding slate roofing, as food for thought on your next project if it has a place for slate.  When Shyam had to specify slate roofing on the Schaefer Auditorium @ Kutztown University he contacted the Evergreen Slate Co. in Granville New York.  They own and operate a huge slate quarry that straddles the New York /Vermont border and several smaller satellite quarries in the area.  The Sales Rep. gave us a Lunch & Learn on slate which piqued my interest, even though we have never used much of it in this office due to the high cost associated with it.
Architecting Insights

iPad vs. Text Book

A library with no books normally would be considered vacant, but for Elizabeth Public School District this is the way of the future. At the John E. Dwyer High School students can expect to walk into a new Multi-Media center in the Spring of 2012 void of the traditional aisles of dusty texts. Instead, they will find comfortable couches, study carrels, and technology covering every inch of the space. The faculty at Dwyer is taking the leap into the 21st century and moving all of the books out of the library. The faculty is already using iPads to track attendance and grades and soon the students will be able to check out a laptop or iPad instead of the old textbooks that used to line the shelves. The cost savings in using technology over updating the texts is what has lead to this great push. 'Embrace technology' is the new anthem at Dwyer - a high school dedicated to teaching students with technology about technology.
Architecting Insights

Start at the Top to Reduce Your Carbon Foot Print

Light colored (reflective) roof tops, solar panel installations, and roof top gardens, are three viable green energy-saving solutions for businesses and homeowners to consider, that help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Too much greenhouse gas traps heat in the atmosphere which causes gradual global warming.
Architecting Insights
News

New Construction at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center; Personal Meets Professional

When I was young I spent many hours brainstorming with one of my best friends, attempting to come up with a way to convince our parents to buy us a horse. We figured if we shared one, our chances went up considerably, right? From riding lessons and horse shows, to my high school job as a groom and trail guide, to my college job as a stable hand, to volunteering at Mylestone Equine Rescue in Phillipsburg, NJ, I’ve spent the last 20 years working with horses.
Architecting Insights

How to Ensure Your Facility is Compliant with the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design

It has been 20 years since the Department of Justice adopted revised Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards. On July 26, 2010 the Obama Administration announced the adoption of the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design. The adoption of the 2010 Standards is a victory for Americans with disabilities who have struggled to navigate spaces designed many years ago but has created a somewhat complex path for business owners, facility operators and designers in their understanding of the implications of the new Standards.
Architecting Insights

East Amwell School District Going Solar

USA conducted another successful “pre-proposal meeting” with potential solar developers, this time on behalf of the East Amwell Township School District. The District will receive proposals up until April 20, 2011. Interest in the project was beyond expectations. Over thirty solar development companies, some with company ties as far away as California came to investigate what the District is proposing. The system is a 400kW ground mount solar photovoltaic system that is scheduled to be erected by the end of the summer. Two important components of the project for the District are establishing an aggressive revenue generating model coupled with the development of an educational tool for students. “These are two key components that we will be looking at when we review the proposals,” Mr. Chuck Miles, BOE President announced to potential bidders.

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