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WoodsEdge incorporates the feel of a town, down to details such as a main street and homes, to help students gain independence. PHOTO COURTESY OF LKF MARKETING

By Nathan Peck | MiBiz
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PORTAGE — In architecture, an effective design improves the lives of those who use the building, while minimizing the impact to the environment.
At the WoodsEdge Learning center, a $23 million building designed to meet the needs of students with severe disabilities, form and function unite to create an environment that supports educational goals, is completely handicapped accessible, and minimizes the school’s carbon footprint.

Construction managers Miller-Davis Company and architects Tower Pinkster Titus Associates Inc. worked with the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA) to design and build the 117,000-square-foot facility. It was that close working relationship that helped incorporate elements that make teachers’ and students’ lives easier while fostering independence for students, explained Steve Hoekzema, principal with Tower Pinkster.

The 230 elementary, middle and high-school students attend classes in “villages,” self-contained classrooms, vocational instruction rooms and kitchens that give students increasing levels of independence.

“The villages allow students to gain independence gradually, from a sheltered environment to more open commons areas,” Hoekzema told MiBiz. “It models a city, with a main street, houses, storefronts and neighborhoods, and bringing a sense of the environment indoors.”

WoodsEdge replaces Croyden Avenue School, an aging building that was never built for educating special needs students. The two-story building was difficult for students in wheelchairs to navigate, and parents donated gates to protect students.

“We hope that students who experience WoodsEdge Learning Center’s specialized environment and unique teaching methods will be able to participate more easily in learning activities, have higher self-esteem as a result, and ultimately be as independent as they are able,” Angela Telfer, director of WoodsEdge, said in a statement.

Teachers and support staff feel like they have been heard in the design and construction process, said Michele Gulbis, assistant director of WoodsEdge. The design reflects many of their recommendations and many have expressed that they feel better able to do their jobs.

“At the beginning, we looked at how Croyden was meeting our needs. We started asking what would you have in a dream facility and talking to teachers and support staff,” Gulbis said. “We started answering what would best meet the needs of our kids.”

KRESA and Tower Pinkster took a research-based approach to the design — pulling incident reports and collecting support for what worked, and what didn’t in the Croyden Avenue building. One of the glaring issues to come out of the research was that lifting high-school age students out of wheelchairs was leading a large number of workman’s compensation claims.

Some of the approaches are simple, such as installing two-stage fire alarms that require a pulled alarm and verification at the office before the signal goes out to the fire department. Rather than using a blaring siren and flashing lights, which can distress students sensitive to lights and loud sounds, the alarm uses voice commands to advise students and staff. Other approaches are more complicated, such as an overhead-rail system that helps instructors lift high school students out of their wheelchairs, cutting down on injuries to teachers.

The WoodsEdge facility is currently going for the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED gold standard for new construction. In addition to the energy savings and reduced impacts on the environment, the efficient air-handling system removes odors that can be distracting to students with hypersensitivity. The extensive use of natural light, while cutting down on lighting costs, provides softer illumination than overhead lights.

Just weeks into the fall semester, Gulbis said that students are calmer, more at ease with their surroundings. Already, the school has seen its number of incidents drop.

“It is a very pleasant and calming environment — which is very good for our kids. Our vision is of a community without barriers. How will you function in the community, what do you do when you leave school? We want to give them the skills to participate at home and in the community,” Gulbis said. “As our students functional skills grow, the building grows along with them.”

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TAGS:

• angela telfer
• architecture
• croyden avenue school
• design build
• kresa
• leed
• michele gulbis
• miller-davis
• portage
• steve hoekzema