posted by Mike Madison at 8:09 PM /
The next "Architect Update" regarding the Mt. Lebanon High School renovation process will take place on Monday, September 21 in the current High School library, at 7 pm. According to the High School Renovation website, "An overview of the organizational layout of the new High School will be presented along with an update of the Plan Con process."
There is more, however. Remember the Dirk Taylor Report, criticizing the current plan for the high school? Remember Dirk Taylor's follow-up criticism? Celli-Flynn Brennan, the School District's architects on the project, have delivered an 8-page response, addressed to Superintendent Tim Steinhauer.
I have a copy of the Celli-Flynn letter (at this point, does it surprise any reader of this blog that correspondence on the merits of the high school project quickly find their way to my In box?), but I'm not planning to post it *unless and until* Dr. Steinhauer makes it public, the School Board makes it public, or someone who comes into possession of a copy under circumstances where no confidence is expected or anticipated (for example, perhaps a copy would be provided to Dirk Taylor, just as a courtesy?) gives me permission to do that. Or, someone *else* could post a copy online, and I could link to it. Of course, the School District maintains a High School Renovation website that would be a perfect venue for sharing this document. I am not holding my breath in anticipation of that happening.
On the merits of the letter from Celli-Flynn, suffice it to say that the architects are confident that their approach is the correct one, and they are confident that the community supports them.
So as not to leave you all in total suspense, here is something else. Dirk Taylor's efforts prompted another highly-respected Mt. Lebanon design professional, Dan Rothschild, to prepare and submit his own critique of the Celli-Flynn design. Dan sent his work to Dr. Steinhauer and the School Board and also sent copies to me with an invitation to post them. Given the length of time that passed between delivery of the Taylor Report and the response that was delivered recently, and the tenor of the response itself ("professional but dismissive" is my judgment), I doubt very much that the School Board or Dr. Steinhauer will take this stuff seriously. I wish they would; in a matter of a few weeks, Dan has dashed off a set of sketches and ideas that is more thought-provoking than anything I have seen in the Celli-Flynn schematics, years in the making. Officially, of course, the CF schematic designs are, at least as of June 2009, still subject to revision. So here are Dan Rothschild's comments:
09.09.09 Dr. Timothy Steinhauer
Rothschild Attachments
[A note for those who have difficulty with or choose to not access these materials on Scribd and would rather that I post them on some open public webserver: I accept your good faith, but anyone who sends me material for posting and anyone who reads that material here has to accept that I have limited time and limited resources; neither I nor this blog can be a public bulletin board! For all of its flaws, Scribd is widely-used, easy-to-use, and *free.* If you'd like to set up a superior alternative, I have no objection at all. Please hold your nose and find a way to log in to Scribd. Download the documents. Post them someplace else. Send me the links. Please!]
There is more, however. Remember the Dirk Taylor Report, criticizing the current plan for the high school? Remember Dirk Taylor's follow-up criticism? Celli-Flynn Brennan, the School District's architects on the project, have delivered an 8-page response, addressed to Superintendent Tim Steinhauer.
I have a copy of the Celli-Flynn letter (at this point, does it surprise any reader of this blog that correspondence on the merits of the high school project quickly find their way to my In box?), but I'm not planning to post it *unless and until* Dr. Steinhauer makes it public, the School Board makes it public, or someone who comes into possession of a copy under circumstances where no confidence is expected or anticipated (for example, perhaps a copy would be provided to Dirk Taylor, just as a courtesy?) gives me permission to do that. Or, someone *else* could post a copy online, and I could link to it. Of course, the School District maintains a High School Renovation website that would be a perfect venue for sharing this document. I am not holding my breath in anticipation of that happening.
On the merits of the letter from Celli-Flynn, suffice it to say that the architects are confident that their approach is the correct one, and they are confident that the community supports them.
So as not to leave you all in total suspense, here is something else. Dirk Taylor's efforts prompted another highly-respected Mt. Lebanon design professional, Dan Rothschild, to prepare and submit his own critique of the Celli-Flynn design. Dan sent his work to Dr. Steinhauer and the School Board and also sent copies to me with an invitation to post them. Given the length of time that passed between delivery of the Taylor Report and the response that was delivered recently, and the tenor of the response itself ("professional but dismissive" is my judgment), I doubt very much that the School Board or Dr. Steinhauer will take this stuff seriously. I wish they would; in a matter of a few weeks, Dan has dashed off a set of sketches and ideas that is more thought-provoking than anything I have seen in the Celli-Flynn schematics, years in the making. Officially, of course, the CF schematic designs are, at least as of June 2009, still subject to revision. So here are Dan Rothschild's comments:
09.09.09 Dr. Timothy Steinhauer
Rothschild Attachments
[A note for those who have difficulty with or choose to not access these materials on Scribd and would rather that I post them on some open public webserver: I accept your good faith, but anyone who sends me material for posting and anyone who reads that material here has to accept that I have limited time and limited resources; neither I nor this blog can be a public bulletin board! For all of its flaws, Scribd is widely-used, easy-to-use, and *free.* If you'd like to set up a superior alternative, I have no objection at all. Please hold your nose and find a way to log in to Scribd. Download the documents. Post them someplace else. Send me the links. Please!]
Labels: dirk taylor, high school renovation
4 Comments:
Thanks Dan!
Dan: Thank you for taking the time to develop and share a very thoughtful and thought-provoking proposal!
This has me wondering: Is an overall project manager going to be appointed to oversee this process? I hate to think that decisions are going to continue to be handled by Supt. Steinhauer and the School Board.
My thanks also to Dirk and Dan, and my disappointment with the board's silence concering their observations and suggestions.
To me its curious, as one example, each and every board member found the 4 parking/tennis court solutions unacceptable. Yet, each declared if I have to pick one, I suppose version 1 is the best of the four and vote to move forward on the project.
Is this the path to build a better high school?
Why not stop at that point and demand a solution that is... A GOOD DESIGN?
Oh well.
Dean Spahr
Dan's exactly right on the building fitting in with the community.
The PA Dept. of Education even featured Mt. Lebanon's previous renovation projects in a document on school construction: "Renovate or Replace? The case for restoring and reusing older school building", which I find curiously does not appear in the list of articles on the district's renovation blog.
State recognition and the board finds it irrelevant!
Dean Spahr
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