Article By
STEPHEN TAIT
Times Herald
Photo by
Mark R Rummel
Times Herald
In a little more than four days, a wind turbine and solar panels near Port Huron's Vantage Point have produced 103 kilowatt hours of electricity.
That is enough to power an average house for 3.5 days or operate a 13-watt energy-efficient light bulb for 7,923 hours. It also is enough to offset 151 miles worth of carbon dioxide produced by an average American car.
"That's pretty impressive for four days," said Adam Abele of ABM Electric, which wired the alternative energy sources.
The two alternative energy sources are part of the curriculum at St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency's Technical Educational Center.
In all, the project costs about $200,000, part of which was offset by a $45,000 grant from Michigan Renewable Schools program, an effort of the nonprofit Energy Works Michigan.
During a day with ample winds and plenty of sunshine -- perfect for the two energy sources -- officials from the state and RESA officially welcomed the wind turbine and solar panels to the community.
The wind turbine is a 90-foot structure that is capable of producing up to 10 kilowatts of electricity. The solar panels, which convert sunlight to electricity, can produce up to 6 kilowatts.
One kilowatt is equal to 1,000 watts.
Information from the turbine will be downloaded onto a website, which will be shared with St. Clair County Community College and be available at the Great Lakes Maritime Center, to be used for alternative energy classes.
Dan DeGrow, RESA superintendent, said students are excited about the program. It also sets students up for a job in the alternative energy field, which continues to grow, he said.
"We think it is an excellent example of what RESA is all about," he said.
Amy Butler, director of the Bureau of Energy Systems for Michigan's Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, said the program will be an example for other districts statewide.
"This is really a unique opportunity," she said. "You guys are going to create a ... sense of excitement."
$27.8 Million for the Avondale School District. School Buildings are to be renovated, with some receiving additions. Energy conservation measures are to be installed and educational technology is to be updated. Outdoor athletic facilities and playgrounds are to be improved. French Associates Architects will be serving as the architect.
Brandon Middle School gets technology boost
Saturday, July 17, 2010
By DUSTIN BLITCHOK
Special thanks to The Oakland Press
The Brandon School District has completed construction of a new addition to Brandon Middle School, the Instructional Technology Exploration and Collaboration Center.
The grand welcoming for the center will be 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 8 The community is invited to the open house, said Paul Spoor, director of technology for Brandon School District.
“We’re really excited about this opportunity. I-TEC is an opportunity for us to meet varied learning styles,” said Superintendent Lorrie McMahon.
The addition was constructed using funds from the district’s voter-approved bond project for capital improvements. The new building, which is about 6,000 square feet in size, blends architecturally with the existing Brandon Middle School building.
The chief architects for the project were French & Associates, the contractor was Skanska, and Barton Malow handled technology for the project. Ground was broken last fall and the project was completed in nine months. Spoor and his technology staff are moving into the building from their previous office space in Brandon High School’s media center.
Spoor explained the thinking behind the building’s two “learn labs,” separated by a removable divider, which use a triangulated learning concept. The rooms have three projectors, four sitting locations, and no dedicated instructional space.
Spoor says the design means people in the room are “forced to collaborate,” and that the learn labs facilitate teacher-to-student involvement. Spoor says the natural point of instruction in a learn lab is the center of the classroom. The ideas for the learn labs and the building’s nontraditional seating come from the Steelcase Corp., headquartered in Grand Rapids.
The atrium of the building, called “the Eye,” can be “set up and torn down to meet anything you want to do; everything is mobile here, and everything has the ability to adapt,” Spoor explained. Community uses for the building may include senior activities and adult education. The I-TEC center will also be available for corporate rental.
All Brandon students now have student ID cards with a barcode, and Spoor says students will be able to use the center and check out equipment for instructional work. The regular business hours of the center have yet to be determined.
Director of curriculum Joanna McKinney says “we are very excited about our opportunity to have an efficient physical space that supports best instructional practice not only for our students, but staff and community alike.”
A pilot class from Brandon Fletcher Intermediate school, Amanda Goodloe’s fifth-grade class, will come to the I-TEC center in the mornings in the fall, where Goodloe will teach science, math, and language arts.
McKinney says the center also will be used for professional development for the district’s employees.
The first day of class in the district is Sept. 7.
French Associates, Architects was responsible for working with the Waterford School District to identify the needs and for special education students. The school first opened in 1979, and consists of center programs for special education students suffering from physical, mental and emotional impairments.
The school not only welcomes Waterford students, but students from across Oakland County, including from the Avondale, Bloomfield Hills, Brandon, Clarkston, Huron Valley, Lake Orion, Oxford, Rochester, Royal Oak, Walled Lake and West Bloomfield districts.
Click on Link below for article in Spinal Column.
KMS Waterford School District
AIA Detroit President's Message - June 14, 2010
Click for Link to Message
On May 9, local news ace Devon Scillian interviewed Alan Cobb and yours truly on the topic of right-sizing the city of Detroit for WDIV's Sunday morning public affairs program,
It is important for them to see architects considered as experts in the public eye especially in matters of this magnitude. How many times have you encountered that blank stare when you've told someone you are an architect and you hear the response, "so you do blueprints?" (taken from AIA Detroit Presidents Message June 14, 2010)
French Associates has been retained by the Addison Twp. Library Board to provide Architectural and Engineering services for a new Library.
French Associates we will be responsible for verifying the program and preliminary design for the project, assist in the redevelopment of the preliminary design and work with library representatives to arrive at an appropriate design that will fall within the project budget. French Associates will also assist the library board in the development of a preliminary cost estimate.
As part of the Phase 2 - French Associates, Architects will assist with Community Survey and Bond Campaign Assistance. These service could provide assistance to the library board in the development of a community survey to determine the support for a millage proposal to construct the new library. The results of this survey will help to predict the outcome of a millage vote and assist the library board in the development of a communications plan to assist with pre-vote campaign efforts. French Associates will also provide guidance and assistance to the citizens committee established by the Library Board for the purposes of promoting the library building millage.
Orion Township has selected French Associates, architects to perform the architectural design for the Orion Township Fire Department's Station #3 located on Gregory Road. The new building will be approximately 7,000 s.f.
French Associates has completed a number of municipal projects, most recently the 16th District Court in Livonia.
16th District Court
Lenox Twp. New LEED Certified Twp. Hall
Northville Twp. Fire Department Headquarters
In the summer, the dozens of flags on top of Port Huron's Great Lakes Maritime Center flap in the ample wind of Vantage Point.
Now, the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency is hoping to harness that wind and make it part of teaching students at its Technical Educational Center.
Workers on Tuesday erected a 90-foot pole that will hold a wind turbine at Vantage Point. Charlie Andrews, director of administrative services at RESA, said monitoring readings from the 10-kilowatt turbine combined with yet-to-be-constructed solar panels will be part of the school's curriculum.
The information from the turbine will be downloaded onto a Web site -- which will be shared with St. Clair County Community College and be available at the Maritime Center -- to be used for alternative energy
classes, Andrews said.
"We know it is windy down there, so we think we will get some very interesting results," Andrews said.
The project cost is about $203,000. About $45,000 of that is being covered by a grant from the Michigan Renewable Schools program, an effort of the nonprofit
Energy Works Michigan. The remainder will be paid by RESA.
French Associates, Inc.
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On hand for the recent ribbon cutting of the new Star Academy athletic field are: Dearborn Heights Mayor Dan Paletko (left), Wayne County Exec Robert Ficano, CEO of Hamadeh Educational Services Nawal Hamadeh, Star International Academy Board President Jumana Ferencz, Oakland University's Mildred Taylor, Michigan Association of Public School Academies President Dan Quisenberry, Sir Michael Berry, Cyndi Berry and Michigan Department of Human Services Director Ismael Ahmed.
French Associates, Architects worked with Foresite Design Inc. in design and completion of this project.
Cros-Lex community schools will celebrate the ground breaking for Cros-Lex Highschool on June 2, 2010.
Croswell-Lexington High School, located near the shores of Lake Huron, had outgrown it's gymnasium, cafeteria and science laboratories. French Associates assisted the District with passing a financial bond issue, providing funds to begin additions and remodeling.
Major projects include the construction of a new, 1,400 seat competition gymnasium and a pair of state-of-the-art science labs. A new cafetorium can serve 400 for meals, seat 500 for performances, and improves the class schedule by halving the number of lunch periods.
A dramatic new events hall will act as a link between a new 200-car parking area/student drop-off and a new outdoor commons that serves the cafeteria and existing football field/track. The existing cafeteria and shop areas will become a new music room, general classrooms and computer labs. The final piece of the project adds a new roof line and a secured vestibule to the main entrance, controlling access to the building during the school day.