News

CREC Breaks Ground on Two State-of-the-Art Schools in Windsor and Wethersfield

(Hartford, CT) On Thursday, October 3, CREC will break ground on two state-of-the-art school buildings that will become the permanent locations for two of CREC’s Interdistrict magnet schools. The building site of the CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering is located at 1101 Kennedy Road in Windsor, and the site of the CREC Discovery Academy is located at 176 Cumberland Avenue in Wethersfield.

“These groundbreaking ceremonies are special occasions for our school district. Since 2008, CREC has expanded our portfolio of magnet schools from eight to nineteen. These schools have been housed in temporary facilities awaiting this day,” explained Dina Crowl, CREC’s General Director and Superintendent of CREC Schools. “Each new, state-of-the-art, theme-driven facility is uniquely designed to bring learning to life for our more than 7,000 deserving students.”

The new buildings include distinctive features that align with each school’s specialized theme and are designed to enhance the schools’ core curriculum. The CREC Discovery Academy’s magnet theme focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects, and the exterior design will provide interactive means for students to explore nature.

“For the past two years, our building committee has diligently met with the architects to design a state-of-the-art STEM elementary school,” shared Dr. Lynn Toper, Principal of the CREC Discovery Academy. “Our students, families, and staff are so excited to formally start the construction process. When complete, the building will house a robotics lab, roof top garden, and outdoor nature areas to support science exploration.”

The site’s natural rolling topography and extensive vegetation will be used to create nature trails, discovery areas, planting beds, fields, playscapes and play yards, along with segregated automobile and bus drop offs. The theme of interactive exploration will carry into the building, with dramatic features and exhibits in the main lobby. When completed, the school will accommodate 480 PreK to 5th Grade students, in 24 core classrooms. Additional classrooms will be provided for science, literacy, art, and music, along with a Computer Lab inside a new Library/Media Center.

The CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering building has been designed to educate students for careers in aerospace and engineering. Along with core classrooms, the 155,000 square foot space will include numerous science labs, workshops, lecture halls, a cafeteria, and a gymnasium. To reflect the technologically-advanced theme, the building itself utilizes components, systems, and design strategies as advanced as the equipment it houses. Visible from Kennedy Road, a zinc-clad curved "wing" contains middle school science laboratories. A quarter-barrel roof with an exposed trussed structure as the gymnasium evokes the design of an airplane hangar. A pixilated image from the Hubbell Telescope of the Lagoon Nebula wraps the exterior of the auditorium in a colorful arrangement of phenolic panels. In addition to the aesthetic features of the building, operable photovoltaic louvers are used on the South and East elevations to maximize exposure to the sun for energy collection, while providing the most beneficial building shading to reduce cooling costs. The building's overall energy usage and generation as well as water consumption will be monitored by a building management system with the data displayed on television screens throughout school. Inside the building, the main lobby will host a full-size, theme-related artifact, suspended within a three-story atrium. The entrance to the media center mimics NASA's "Mission Control" and overlooks one of the school entrances. Advanced technology and cutting-edge equipment can be found throughout the building, providing a sophisticated learning environment to complement the challenging curriculum. When completed, the school will accommodate 735 students in grades 6 through 12.

Each of the school construction projects is managed by CREC’s Construction Services, and upon completion, CREC will continue to manage and operate the two magnet schools. “These schools are investments that will have great payoffs for Connecticut’s economy and residents in the short and long term,” explained John Mena, Director of Construction at CREC. “We are proud to be a part of something that will benefit students and their communities now and for years to come.” Both schools are scheduled for completion and occupancy in the Fall of 2015.

The CREC Magnet School Groundbreaking Ceremonies are scheduled as follows:

CREC Academy of Aerospace & EngineeringDate: October 3, 2013Time: 8:30 am Location: 1101 Kennedy Road, Windsor, CT

CREC Discovery AcademyDate: October 3, 2013Time: 1:00 pmLocation: 176 Cumberland Avenue, Wethersfield, CT

Rendering of the CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering, Windsor, CT

Rendering of the CREC Discovery Academy, Wethersfield, CT