DKA to design a safer Daycare in Connecticut

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Discussion about school safety used to center around round edges and the ability to wash and clean surfaces such as this previous DKA design for a nursery school.   After the string of school tragedies that recently culminated in the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut, schools now have emergency crisis plans including lockdown drills.  

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As life would have it, Dennis Kowal Architects is designing a Day Care and Nursery School in Connecticut just blocks from the St. John’s Cemetery where one of the Sandy Hook students is now interred.   Safety was already a priority for this project, but the madness that occurred at the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School  has naturally prompted more discussion and design.   Some of the design features being incorporated into the plan include moving the parked cars away from the building and locating the playgrounds directly outside the school doors as much as possible creating a land buffer.   Also, fire walls are being used inside to compartmentalize the facility and unrelated uses are being moved out of the classroom zones to reduce the amount of casual intrusions.

Disasters don’t always strike the same way twice, so an effective design approach considers natural disasters, a variety of attacks, and various vulnerabilities.   Since the 1999 Columbine massacre, many agencies such as FEMA and the Department of Education have provided schools with design guidelines;  such as not selecting sites in a depressed land area which would tend to collect and hold toxic gases in the event of a spill.    Common sense has resulted in limited entry points with controlled access and administration or other supervision close to the entry.   Some schools mark the exterior windows with the interior room numbers for quick navigation by first responders.

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DKA designed this classroom with two interior exit doors and one door that opens directly to the playground for ease of supervision and safe movement.		Safety provisions in this religious education wing, such as the DKA Dutch door solution prevent parents from entering classrooms when they sign out for their children.  Color coding from floor tiles to the matching color chairs and carpets help small children navigate; whether an emergency or normal day.
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Earlier designs for the Noroton Presbyterian Church classrooms included two level playgrounds attached to the building and a glass stair tower that provided instant views around the entire five acre site as well as over the playground areas.		Translucent window shades were used in this Maryland classroom by DKA to allow natural light while eliminating direct views in from outside.    Emergency crisis plans typically involve covering classroom windows, locking the doors and having students pause in silence under their desks.
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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS designs safe environments for learning!

 

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Taking Health Care to the next level

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This hospital room was designed to coordinate all finishes, colors and materials such as the Stryker Bed headboard, wall art and flooring.  Furthermore, many of the materials, finishes, hardware and fabric are specially designed to naturally kill germs for the life of the products.

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One of the first hospital renovations under the new Health Care Law has been completed at the Bayonne Medical Center.   Seamless surfaces, products that naturally fight bacteria between housecleaning cycles, and new standards for patient comfort have guided this project.  Upon seeing the new Transitional Care Unit, nurses remarked “Oh my gosh, this place is awesome,  it feels like a hotel room!”   Two husband and wife teams from Dennis Kowal Architects made the transformation possible.  Project Manager Steven Malyszka was responsible for the project from estimating through construction while his graphic designer wife, Anna Malyszka attended to details like the new patient information boards which were custom designed to fit into the floating foot walls.    And principal designer Dennis Kowal brought some of the latest concepts in hospital design to the project while his interior designer wife, Susan Kowal coordinated all of the finishes, hospital equipment, fabrics and interior design.     The foursome produced an integrated project which unites artwork, drapery, graphics and all of the Department of Health required features that assure security, sanitation, privacy and cleanliness.

Dennis Kowal Architects has specialized in the design for the health community for thirty years completing many medical facilities from doctor’s offices to thallium imaging centers.  The project at Bayonne Medical Center breaks new ground by tailoring the design features to raise the HCAHPS scores (patient supplied grading that affect hospital health care reimbursements).   Features such as reduced glare, sound absorbing flooring, and surfaces that fight the spread of infection directly improve patient satisfaction.   Another feature of the design was to detail all of the construction so that it could be accomplished within 90 days; the maximum amount of time that the hospital could afford to close the floor for renovation.

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Adjustable chairs serve the many nursing shifts while undercounter lighting reduces patient glare.		Visitors are greeted by trendy pendant lighting and cast resin panels that contain imbedded dried ginko leaves.   The flooring is anti-microbial and sound deadening while the counter tops are durable cast quartz.
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This new dayroom serves both as a common dining area and recreation room. The comfortable chairs can stack out of the way when not needed.		The new facility is barrier-free, low maintenance, and durable.  Complete with acrylic panels that are both decorative and scratch resistant.
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The patient footwall has become a restful combination of natural reeds cast into an acrylic panel complemented by adjustable window mesh that blocks out the sun’s rays while allowing a translucent views to the outside.  Note how the visitor chair folds neatly out of the way.		This custom graphic on the patient footwall helps patients remember their room number, phone number, schedule and even helps describe their comfort level.
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Small details were used to create a residential feeling in the hospital.   Indirect lighting, drapes, and  patterned privacy curtains add warmth to the patient rooms while wall hooks for visitor chairs, day chairs that convert to sleepers and niches for bulletins and notices keep the floor and wall consuming elements to a minimum.    Interior designer, Susan Kowal, remarked “Natural light, an uncluttered room and clean lines all figure into the healing process.”

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The two tone wood theme is carried into the patient night stand giving a residential feel to the environment.   The floating table top allows the underneath storage and quick access of books and magazines without the loss of table space.

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Dennis Kowal Architects takes health care design to the next level.

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Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving in Ships Bottom

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Dennis J. Kowal AIA uses a microphone to notify residents of Long Beach Island that hot Thanksgiving Meals are being served.

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As a Board member of the Central Chapter of the American Red Cross, Dennis J. Kowal AIA, principal of Dennis Kowal Architects realized many of the Red Cross volunteers needed a break on Thanksgiving Day so they could join their families.  He and his interior designer wife, Susan Kowal, were happy to forego their own traditions and head out at 6am to serve Turkey Dinners to allow some of the Red Cross staff to take the day off.    One hundred and nine Red Cross Vehicles like the one pictured above canvassed Sandy-ravaged New Jersey to deliver meals prepared by volunteers from the Southern Baptist Convention.    Susan commented “I’d rather be doing this than anything else today!  These people on Long Beach Island have no heat, no natural gas, and not a single store or food establishment open today.     If it wasn’t for the Red Cross, they would be alone without a meal.”

During a meal distribution at the Buccaneer Motel where displaced residents were relocated who  no longer had homes, cars, or possessions, one resident was heard to say that they only thing they had in their room was a can of nuts and “we really appreciate the daily meals brought to the Island by the American Red Cross”.  Down the street other residents were shoveling four feet of sand out of the first floor of their homes and appreciated the meal and water delivery.  Amazingly, on the opposite corner, the homes did not have sand at all but only muck from the bay.  Apparently, flooding from the Ocean side met the flooding from the bay side at this corner and left two different scenarios for homeowners to face.

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Susan Kowal serving hot turkey, string beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, apple sauce and a snack pack of goodies and water from the window in the side of the Red Cross truck known as an ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle).  Families were even given a Thanksgiving table cloth but the best gift is sometimes just compassion or chance to talk about each situation.		Despite the 27 degree early morning temperatures, strict Food handling guidelines and procedures assure that the 7,500 meals served every day to the Jersey Shore storm residents are safe, tasty, and steaming hot.  Red Cross volunteers came from every state in the nation on three week rotations to help with shelters, meals and assisting residents with paperwork and re-starting their lives.
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House Calls in Ships Bottom, New Jersey!   Dennis, led by a neighbor who knew this woman was alone, crippled and isolated on Thanksgiving, brings warm blankets and a turkey dinner.  This resident was forced to move to the second floor of their house as the entire first floor was flooded and is now just an empty shell.		A spontaneous Thanksgiving prayer during a lull offered by volunteers from various partner groups was interrupted when the Team Leader shouted “Incoming!”   (meaning a group of residents was walking toward the ERV’s.  Workers had to jump back into the vehicles to get the serving lines running again…so much for a break!).
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Sand had to be shoveled out of many homes.		It’s odd to see more debris than cars or people on a popular Long Beach Island street.
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A thankful young woman surprised Dennis with a hug after he offered her a  sweatshirt on this cold morning.  JC Penny’s and many other businesses donated thousands of coats and sweatshirts.

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These volunteers are a long way from their families in North Carolina and are seen here preparing one order of mashed potatoes, enough for 100 off-site meals.  The Waretown kitchen, K-3, was a fully inspected commercial kitchen set up in temporary tents and these workers will not get home for the Holiday.  The day begins by loading the ERVs with enough food to serve 300 people each and the day ends at dusk with cleaning everything for use again tomorrow.

Early on Thanksgiving morning, some of the 43 ERVs lined up to receive their day’s supply of hot food at K-3.  Some trucks go to shelters, some to street corners, and others make set rounds. Other ERVs left from two other kitchen locations to serve the entire State.

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  Susan and her friend, Linda Blair-Cusumano, baked ten homemade pumpkin pies to surprise the North Carolina kitchen workers.    Since the kitchen workers would be going back to hotels and tent cities at night to eat prepared foods for their own belated Thanksgiving, Susan thought it would be great to treat them with a little taste of home cooking.  Unfortunately, the gas oven broke at this point and all the raw pies had to be carried to a neighbor’s house to finish!  Mission was accomplished in time and the workers loved being appreciated this way at the end of a long day!

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Donations for Hurricane Sandy can be made to the Red Cross at www.redcross.org

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Exxon goes Green in Style!

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The Lobby of Exxon Energy Systems uses natural Vermont slate on the floor to absorb the heat from the low angle winter sun.  The heat is redistributed to the offices by heat pumps.    Visitors get a great view inside and out and are sometimes unaware of the natural energy systems working around them.

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Who says sustainable design must be colorless and drab?  When Exxon Energy Systems wanted a 100,000 square foot office/research building at Princeton’s Forrestal Center,  Dennis J. Kowal, AIA, LEED AP,  combined a strong design with energy saving features.  The four story building is sheathed in insulated metal panels  and special window systems which are different at each sun exposure:  north, south, east, and west.   On the exposures where summer sun is not an issue, the walls are flat and the windows are in the plane of the exterior wall.   But  windows exposed to the strong summer sun are designed to allow the skydome light in and keep the solar gain out.  The windows  are permanently tipped away from the direct solar gain (see photo above which is similar to the offices) which provides natural shading in the summer.   The low angle winter sun is able to shine into the space, warm the surfaces and floors and warm the offices.

Another feature of the design includes incremental heat pumps which reduce the length of duct work runs; thereby reducing embodied energy in the manufacture process and  consumption of extra resources.  Because the window system is designed to bring in natural light without the glare and summer solar gain, the offices are less dependent on artificial lighting and thereby conserve energy.

A geothermal system was designed for both the air conditioning and heating of the building, but the Department of Environmental Protection declined the permit because it was a new concept to them.  Did we tell you…..this building was designed and constructed over 25 years ago! … ahead of its time in concept and development.  Today, geothermal permits are routine and day-lighting is all the rage, but this is one of the projects that started it all.

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The deep profile of this southern exposure allows for super-insulation and great energy efficiency.		The wall section acts like a periscope bouncing natural light in and keeping direct solar gain out.   Day-lighting reduces the energy cost for artificial lighting and increases occupant satisfaction and efficiency.
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The four story building mixes window profiles based on exposure to the summer sun.		Natural light is bounced into the offices (note the bright sloped wall above the window) while glare and heat remain outside.

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Dennis Kowal Architects integrates master planning, space planning, building design and Interior Design to a variety of corporate and industry clients. 

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The site design  introduced concepts that were new at the time, such as bioswales, that used vegetation and root systems to purify parking lot runoff before returning the water to the ecosystem and pervious pavers at the entry plaza that naturally absorbed rainwater.

Also, mature trees were brought into the parking lot to provide substantial shade to the vehicles which reduced off-gassing of car fuel tanks and reduced the heat-island effect of the pavement.  The Exxon building is still a stellar example and precursor to the LEED concepts that are just starting to take hold in America.

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Dennis Kowal Architects help corporations reduce building energy costs while making them look good!

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Hurricane Sandy buries the Wicked Witch of the North(easter)

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Just like in the Oz movie, Hurricane Sandy lifted this 80’ long barn roof in one piece and dropped it in a field. 

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS was busy during Hurricane Sandy running to projects in ravaged Belmar, New Jersey, flooded  Hoboken New Jersey, and right in their own back yard in Central New Jersey.   A 16’ x 84’ long roof assembly lifted directly off a barn at Duke Farms.  In almost a surgical fashion, Hurricane Sandy grabbed one half of the gabled upper roof assembly and detached it with very little damage to the remaining structure.

In Hurricanes, buildings either implode or explode from the high wind pressure.  It is not uncommon to find after a storm that two adjacent buildings have been destroyed by two different methods.  One building implodes and all materials remain in a heap and another building explodes and parts of it are found everywhere.  The reason is simple.   If flying debris breaks a window or a loose exterior detaches, then the high pressure wind is able to get inside the structure, and under the right conditions, burst the structure open.  This is what happened to the maternity barn at Duke Farms.    The weakest link let go and that happened to be the wood framed roof.  The exterior walls of the barn were concrete block.

Gusts can also cause a building to implode when forces exceed the design capacity of the structure.  Sometimes, improper construction can be the culprit.  This is why every project we design includes a nailing schedule specifying how many nails, what size and what spacing.    These things matter when  there is a storm.  Also, windows come in a hurricane grade which resist breakage when heavy objects are hurled at them at terrific speeds.  These simple steps can sometimes save a building.

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The upper roof of this 7,000 sf barn weighing several tons was lifted by Sandy as one piece and then dropped a short distance away.    Note that the hay pile remained intact.		Facility Manager, Joseph Wyatt LEED AP, assembled a quick response team for the storm damage at Duke Farms.  The roof assembly broke in half upon landing.
A clean separation between framing halves of this barn can be seen at the ridge pole.		It will be possible to rebuild the barn using many of the original components.
The sequence of events:   Fragments of in-blown glass were only evident in a small location seen below in this photo taken  from where the clerestory windows were once in position.   As soon as the envelope was breached, wind pressure filled the structure with such force as to cause some part to explode.  The roof popped up in one piece and the steady windy blew it clear of the rest of the structure. The remaining windows all blew out like the roof.		The blown off roof immediately reduced the wind pressure and no further damage occurred.

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS assists owners with storm damage and navigate the difficult insurance claim process.   Dennis Kowal, AIA LEED AP, has disaster assessment training with the American Institute of Architects and is on the Board of the American Red Cross.

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS provides expert structural assessments when the unexpected happens.

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Dennis Kowal Architects expands “The Innovation University”

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The proposed new Stevens Institute of Technology Library overlooking the Hudson at Castle Point.

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New Jersey’s Stevens Institute of Technology, ranked as one of the top 75 schools in the United States, asked DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS  to plan renovations  and expansion of their existing 70,000 square foot Samuel C. Williams Library and Computer Center.     The 1960’s building which sits at the heart of the Castle Point campus has not kept up with the technology and innovation for which the school is known.

Kowal says “after extensive interviews with the students, faculty, and new Stevens President, Nariman Farvardin, a plan to transform and expand the four level library was presented and embraced by the planning committee and administration.  The concept provides team study and research environments that facilitates student and faculty interaction and problem solving; a hallmark of the Stevens successful teaching style.

In addition to the traditional library functions, key design features of the new Library include a concert pavilion, new graduate lounge, more seating and computer work areas, quiet study rooms, projection-equipped rooms to practice and record team presentations, lab-style student “collaboration” spaces to facilitate student interaction, digitized reference materials, archives, and a small student commons.

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The new Library is part of an expansion plan that will double the undergraduate population.  The Library design by DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS is a part of an overall master plan study.  Funding and approval of the project are currently underway.  A large part of the new master plan is dedicated to focusing on technology in sectors such as health care, defense and finance.  

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Students in the existing library often work at tables without power connections in rooms without adequate seating.		The existing building will be renovated and expanded to become a center of for study and community.

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The DKA planning with faculty and staff was broadcast throughout the University to obtain the maximum input from the students and users.    Above, Kelly Smozanek of  Dennis Kowal Architects leads a workshop with faculty.  This consensus approach to design resulted in wide acceptance and a strong solution.

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DENNIS KOWAL ARCHITECTS is currently planning facilities at Rutgers University and the Stevens Institute of Technology.

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University Students bring teacher an Apple!

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 How do you design a University Conference Center that also accepts fork lifts!  This was the unique challenge solved by Dennis Kowal Architects at Rutgers Fruit Research and Extension Center.  The Cream Ridge Agricultural Center is composed of labs, barns, fruit orchards, cold storage and teachers and students who basically study apples for shelf life, taste, insect resistance and productivity.

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Dennis Kowal Architects converted a leaky equipment storage barn into a state-of-the-art conference center but the same facility had a few more requirements.  For example, a couple times a year, the Agricultural conference center hosts a farming event where farm equipment and some of the orchard harvests are on display and Rutgers wanted the Conference Room walls to open to the out of doors for a “flow through” experience.   Also, the Conference Center contained labs and cold storage for the fruit specimens picked from the orchards by the crate-load and the floors needed to handle fork lift traffic while still meeting   the sophisticated sound requirements for lectures and meetings.

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A symposium room for up to fifty people exists in the same space as the labs and cold storage.   The flexible space must serve as Lecture Hall, Exhibit Space, and Museum.		The Conference Center also is an Agricultural Museum, often displaying farm equipment which is brought in through the overhead doors.  Dennis Kowal Architects used a floating wood grid ceiling to allow the overhead doors to disappear above the grid, creating the open-air feeling on fair days while maintaining the decorum of a museum on other days.
The same area before the major renovations consisted of exposed, un- insulated construction, farming supplies and otherwise wasted space.		The Research Center studies small fruits, including apples, peaches, apricots, nectarines, brambles, strawberries, and ornamental nursery crops. The center increases production efficiency and protects fruit crops against environmental and biological hazards, while decreasing production costs and pesticide use. As a result of their research and development, some fruit storage can last all winter.
The amount of lay-in ceiling was minimized to reduce exposure to humidity when the barn doors are opened and the conference center becomes a fairgrounds!		Reclaimed barn beams and wood were used for the door lintels and door frames to link the new facility to its heritage.

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Dennis Kowal Architects designs for higher education and supports students through internships.

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