Design Review Board warms to Wilkes adjusted design

Published 3:34 pm Thursday, September 23, 2010

By JESSICA HOCH

Staff Writer

After a rocky initial meeting the Design Review Board (DRB) and the Wilkes Elementary School design planners reached a more solid consensus on plans for the look and feel of the new school. The meeting wrapped up the pre-application phase and gave the school district final suggestions before it submits the formal land use application.

The pre-application phase is meant to give applicants a chance to get feedback from the DRB on specifications for a project. The DRB met with the Wilkes design team in early August and expressed a number of issues with the design plans.

The DRB was initially concerned there wasn’t enough screening around the site and a more intense buffering was needed to separate school property and the roads. The new plans add more screening and include a public walkway weaved amongst vegetation along Madison and Day arterials. A black, coated chain-link fence will separate the play field and public area. The team also added trees and vegetation in attempt to block window glare and to modify what the DRB thought would look like a harsh glass wall from Day Road. The school will also have publicly accessible garden plots for growing food and educational purposes.

The current design places the school on the upper part of the Wilkes property – 300 feet from Madison Avenue and 100 feet from Day Road – with fields and parking fronting the road. The goal is to integrate the school into the hillside.

Buses will enter and exit on Day Road, with the parent parking loop accessible from Madison.

The current school fencing on the west and south boundaries cuts off access to the forested area behind the school, which is part of the school district property. The new landscape plans will add trails to those areas for educational and public use, and the school district will negotiate with neighbors on aligning the fence with the actual property line.

The material swatches are chocolate brick, wood, vegetated concrete and glass. Butch Reifert, who is part of the architect team, said the color palette was chosen to emulate natural colors and materials on the island.

DRB members found the new plans to be a vast improvement from the previous concept and only offered a few suggestions for the school district before it submits a final design to the DRB.

“The kids going to school here are going to love it,” said DRB member John Green. “I want to go back to school.”

Co-chair Mack Pearl suggested the design have more depth and height variance to avoid the appearance of one long, flat building.

The school district opted to add a public participation meeting to present its concept to community members and generate feedback. The meeting will be held Oct. 4 at Wilkes Elementary at 7 p.m.