The Frederick School, identified as a building to be preserved and renovated into a school for the future, was one of the initial projects undertaken by the Maryland Stadium Authority as part of the State’s $1.1 billion dollar capital improvement program. Integral to the Frederick project is the planned closing of the Samuel B. Morse Elementary School, which is in proximity to the Frederick School. The Morse students would assimilate into the student population of the Frederick School, when the Frederick renovations are complete.
The overall objectives of the project are to provide sufficient space for the current and future Frederick and Morse populations, for community partnership programs, and create a 21st Century Learning environment for students. As the design professional, USA Architects worked closely with MSA, Baltimore City Schools, and the construction management firm to develop a design that met these objectives, LEED Silver requirements, and the project budget. The process was a highly collaborative effort that began with the basics of the a vision, site specific educational specifications and the feasibility study, and grew through site adaptation, code implementation and budget constraints to a final design that addresses the concerns of all stakeholders.
Community meetings held periodically with the school administration and with local residents helped impact a final design decision pertaining to local traffic and pedestrian patterns. During the schematic design phase, the team discussed adding a second access lane coming off one of the side streets. One member of the audience advised the team of a situation that would add severe congestion to an already narrow street. In addition, there was an intersection further down the road, adjacent to the site, which gets congested during specific times of the day. This valuable insight early on in the process negated a potentially costly redesign or problematic outcome.
The completely renovated building features 3,000 sf of designated community space and a new three-story 42,000 sf addition for a total of 84,000 combined sf accommodating well over 500 students in a bright, new and modern learning environment. The grounds include new parking and drop off areas, playgrounds and landscaping.
USA provided construction administration services, working closely with MSA and the construction management team.