Mamaroneck, NY, High School Addition Fulfills Master Planning Solution

As the population of the Mamaroneck Union Free School District in Mamaroneck, N.Y., has grown through the years to its current 4,800-plus students, so have its building space requirements. Mamaroneck High School, which is educational home to 1,335 students, includes a number of additions that stretch from its original 1926 Post Road location to a former junior high school located approximately one-quarter mile away. 

Architects at The Geddis Partnership, of Southport, Conn., were asked to bridge the gap between the high school and the former junior high school, designing a 28,000 square-foot three-story addition totaling $15.8 million to design and construct, with a fall 2005 opening.

“This project is much more than a new wing,” said Brian Snyder, AIA, senior associate at The Geddis Partnership and project architect for the Mamaroneck High School addition. “It was a master planning solution that created a definitive center and new entrance for a vast high school campus with strategic destinations along that new center.”

In order to expand the connection piece between these buildings, the library was relocated to the new addition. This move created a place for a new student café that is situated along a newly created 300-foot long, 20-foot wide student concourse space with an arched ceiling and new arched entry. Several key student services were located adjacent to the concourse, including the new student café and library, tiered lecture hall, guidance and principal’s offices, and the school store.

“The complex is predominantly masonry with blended brick to harmonize with the 1926 Post Road side of the campus,” according to the Geddis Partnership’s architect’s statement. “Rock-face brick ornamental courses and storefront glass with fritted and tinted glass at the library enhance the appeal of the interior spaces. It is located against the hillside that connects to the balance of the campus just to the north. A new student entrance, monumental staircase, lobby, and information center mark the south side of the building.”

Construction products were specified not only to harmonize with the school’s original building but for their durability. For example, interior brickwork lines the concourse – rather than a less-expensive product such as gypsum wallboard – in order to student-proof the area.

“The concourse is a common open area that has been constructed to withstand heavy use,” said Snyder. “Gypsum wallboard would be inadequate.”

Another durable product specified for the addition was Alucobond® Plus aluminum composite material (ACM) with the fire-rated core by 3A Composites USA, Inc., in the 4 mm thickness and custom Hartford Green color. Alucobond consists of two sheets of .02” aluminum thermobonded to a plastic core. Alucobond provides extraordinary flatness and rigidity, excellent formability, low weight and outstanding weather resistance.

General contractor M.A. Angeliades, of Long Island City, N.Y., turned to BAMCO, Inc., of Middlesex, N.J., to fabricate and install approximately 10,000 square feet of the Alucobond Plus ACM as exterior stepped barrel cornice pieces and column covers on the Mamaroneck High School addition.

In addition to straight stepped barrel cornice pieces, BAMCO was challenged to create a large curved stepped barrel cornice with exacting radius conditions, according to Bob Balaam, BAMCO sales manager. This cornice is 36-feet long by 30-inches high with a 50-foot radius.

“These radius conditions required that every panel be pattern cut and welded together,” according to Balaam, who said layout was completed via AutoCAD computer software and cutting was accomplished with CNC routers. “It was a very labor-intensive project … but it fits like a glove.”

BAMCO started fabrication in October 2004 and completed installation of the Alucobond Plus panels in September 2005 in its C-500 Wall System in which panels are attached in a rout and return method with silicone caulk joint typically applied to sheathing and vapor barrier.

“A lot of jobs require radius conditions, and Alucobond is very versatile,” said Balaam. “It can be pattern-cut and rolled into any shape. Alucobond is one of the most versatile construction materials. It allows you to do a lot.”

“Alucobond was one of the products that could make a custom profile, including edge detailing and curves,” said Snyder. “It was a flexible material that could be produced in a custom color. We were able to make the column covers on the third floor out of the same material.”

The Geddis Partnership is completing a second phase of renovation and reconstruction work to the balance of the school’s 200,000 square feet, including science labs and approximately 70 classrooms. This $7 million renovation and reconstruction phase is expected to be completed in January 2008.