Conference Agenda
2021 CONFERENCE AGENDA
EDUCATIONAL SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
KEYNOTE | Alan Mallory, CSP, MA, BSc, PE, PEng, PMP
Reaching New Heights
This session is built around the two years of planning and two months of climbing that culminated in Alan's world-record expedition to the summit of Mount Everest with three members of his immediate family. Incorporated throughout are practical and actionable strategies for facilities directors to help re-establish momentum and inspire a mindset of continuous improvement. Alan puts specific emphasis on adopting an agile mentality so that we can adapt, gaining alignment and commitment, managing risks, empowering others, and effectively collaborating in order to achieve strategic goals.
Supported by stunning images and videos from the expedition, Alan highlights the strategies, thinking and action steps that allow us to move beyond our perceived limitations, both individually and collectively. It also aligns well with the conference theme of Restore, Reset, Reconnect.
Restore: The presentation is all about working through, responding to, and recovering from challenges in order to re-establish cohesion and alignment moving forward.
Reset: Alan emphasizes the advantages of adopting an agile approach focusing on learning, adapting, resetting and incorporating the lessons learned from each successive iteration. Remaining nimble is key to being able to reset and recover quickly.
Reconnect: Success in mountaineering is built upon a foundation trust, respect and healthy relationships; so developing and rebuilding connections is a key component for gaining alignment and progressing towards the achievement of strategic goals.
Keeping School Buildings Healthy: Emerging Issues in Managing for Occupant Safety and Health
Dr. Marilyn Black, LEED AP
Vice President and Senior Technical and Strategic Advisor, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
Founder Air Quality Sciences, Inc. and The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
As we reconnect in our school buildings and classrooms, it has never been more important to design, operate and manage our school buildings with a focus on good indoor air quality (IAQ) to protect the health of students and staff. School facility staff will be charged with a renewed focus on IAQ.
As new technologies and challenges emerge, they may bring unintended consequences for human health. Researchers at Chemical Insights evaluate the impact of emerging technologies, such as 3D printers, on indoor air quality. They also consider how new COVID-19 protocols intersect with indoor air quality, both elevating its importance and providing potential new challenges.
This session will make the case for prioritizing IAQ, reveal what research has found, and most importantly, focus on what you can do to best mitigate unintended consequences. Finally, the session will explore common real-life scenarios specific to schools for determining mitigation strategies that are effective, practical, and safe. Join to hear trusted experts share their unique scientific knowledge and apply it to your practice right away.
Mechanical and Plumbing Design after the Pandemic
Gregg Cox, PE, LEED AP | Principal
Michael Kicher, CPD, LEED AP | Principal
MBA Consulting Engineers
The world seemed to turn upside down a little over a year ago. Aspects of the built environment were called into question with indoor activities curtailed or eliminated altogether. Restaurants tried to move dining outside, office spaces were largely abandoned. But what would schools look like? How could teachers provide social distancing in the same classroom square footage? How could you possibly increase fresh air into schools dramatically overnight? What else could be done?
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused school systems and building owners to reassess their building’s designs and everyday functions. Some of the main design concerns are found within the HVAC and plumbing fields. This presentation will look at how many of our school system clients have designed their facilities to this point, what changes can be made to existing systems, and what new design changes may look like.
Recommendations from the CDC and ASHRAE for Schools' Indoor Environments
Thomas Brown | Comprehensive Solutions Account Executive
Trane
Trane remains fully committed to our education partners who are working to ensure that schools are healthy places to work and learn. As Georgia schools navigate operating in this new norm, Trane will share current CDC and ASHRAE recommendations for operating school HVAC systems. Learn how federal and state stimulus funds can be applied to infrastructure improvements. Indoor air quality is an important part of maintaining a healthy indoor environment in schools.
Learning "Here" and "Anywhere": Connecting at a Distance and Creating Meaning in "Place"
Brett Sumrow & Tanya Richard | Corgan
When our whole world changed, education did too. In the classroom one day, and online the next, teachers and students quickly adapted to learn in new places and in new ways. Education must continue to evolve, creating new places for learning - material, digital, and in-between - to be resilient and impactful in an ever-changing world. Hybrid models of learning that draw from the best of in-person and online learning, and thoughtfully designed outdoor learning spaces can play a significant role. Embracing these typologies with a focus on student wellbeing, growth and success can assist educators in meeting the challenges of today and the demands of tomorrow.
Better Together: K-12 Under One Roof
Elizabeth Epstein, LEED AP, PMP
Savannah-Chatham County Public School
Paul Boney, FAIA | Senior VP, K12 Practice Leader
April Mundy, AIA | Project Manager
LS3P
The Savannah Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) with the assistance of LS3P Associates is developing a new $103 million K-12 School with all grade levels in a single complex. The project grew out of experience in developing multiple schools on a single parcel, but in separate buildings. The idea behind the single building K-12 is rooted in three basic tenants: oImproved Educational Experience: Having more classrooms under one roof allows SCCPSS to adjust classroom grade assignments as enrollment ebbs and flows from year to year. It also creates a greater synergy for more teachers in one locale. This allows for more robust professional development and cross collaboration. Similarly, it allows the student experience to be more varied and tailored to a wider variety of offerings. Shared Common Core Programs and Spaces: Sharing specialized arts and performance venues, career education, athletics and food service, will result in reduced redundancy and higher utilization of the more expensive specialized spaces in a K-12 program. oImproved Security and Operations: A unified building complex will facilitate greater control of security for more students utilizing fewer staff. It also allows for centralized systems (mechanical, electrical, data, etc.) so infrastructure can become more efficient by serving a larger population. It also creates a smaller footprint and higher efficiency building on a per student basis.
The Shoulders We Stand On: The Importance of Community and Its Influence On Design
Brett Norton, Senior Associate, Team Leader | Collins Cooper Carusi
Samuel Cooper, AIA, Principal | Collins Cooper Carusi
Jere Smith, Director of Capital Improvements | Atlanta Public Schools
With less than a year in thier new school before quarantine, Tuskeegee Airmen Academy (TAG) now looks at redefining how they engage with a their resilient southwest Atlanta elementary school. TAG was founded through the melding of two small school populations in need of strong community identity. Inspired by the bold legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, Atlanta Public Schools sought to create a school that allowed its students to push beyond their own limitations while simultaneously growing, reflecting, and strengthening their resolve. How can a school’s design act as an echo of history while still generating a feeling of limitless possibility? Jere Smith and APS facilities leadership team tapped Collins Cooper Carusi Architects to execute the vision for this unique project. Basing our design approach on the idea of flight, the material and form of the building nod to the school’s historic namesakes while maintain scale and context on a very small site in an established residential neighborhood. The school’s STEAM-based curriculum provided a strong inspiration for spatial adjacencies that would allow students to move seamlessly through and between Science, Art, and Music classrooms and to an outdoor learning lab overlooking the playfield. CCCA attempted to create unique spaces throughout the building that still fit within budget and programmatic constraints of Atlanta Public Schools facilities requirements, even studying how a scaled-down replica of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane could be hung in the main lobby (an idea that is still being considered by the school system). Although we “stand on the shoulders of giants” as designers and administrators in the context of this project’s legacy, how can our modern communities and schools grow their own unique identities with strong and responsive design solutions as a backdrop?
How Video Analytics and AI Improve School Safety and Security
Justin DeMone | Regional Sales Director, Video, Georgia
Avigilon, A Motorola Solutions Company
Our nation’s schools are supposed to be safe for teaching and learning, free from crime and violence — a place where the next generation can grow and learn. Yet everyday incidents, like a fight in a hallway, an allergic reaction on the playground or an injury in gym class, threaten to disrupt the educational process. Beyond these incidents, the rise of extreme events — including the Covid-19 pandemic, active shooters and bomb threats — are challenging schools to prepare for worst-case scenarios.
A smart security system that includes AI-powered video security solutions can help you not only respond and manage both the everyday and the critical emergencies, but also recognize patterns, anticipate actions and help prevent situations as they develop. Learn how our solutions bridge the gap in areas of risk, which often thrive in the unknown and the unseen. They provide schools with the capabilities to detect and analyze what is happening on campus so that you can prevent security threats from escalating and protect what matters most — your students, staff and faculty.
Student Voice Informs Equitable Learning Space Design for A4LE SchoolsNEXT Design Competition
Michelle Carpenter | Chief Strategy Officer
Natural Pod
SchoolsNEXT SE Chair, National Co-Chair
A4LE’s annual student design competition, SchoolsNEXT, challenges middle school students to plan and design sustainable and resilient learning spaces that encourage innovation, critical thinking and collaboration. This session explores the past 3 years of student projects, identifying considerations and recommendations from the student perspective of what their learning environments need to embrace and support.
This session will be co-facilitated with SchoolsNEXT chairs alongside SchoolsNEXT participating students. Students will respond to design-thinking questions to illustrate their first-hand perspective, with the goal of informing intentional learning space design. A call to action will be issued to attendees to share the impact of the SchoolsNEXT design competition with school districts for future participation, to build and inspire future generations of architects, designers, and school planners.