Watch out SpaceX, There’s a New Inventor in Town.
Architectural Design Director, Kenneth Ong, AIA and his 6-year-old son, Ryan, engaged in a fun STEM activity at the Astounding Inventions 2017 event. Ryan had great fun building and launching several iterations to improve the design and durability of his rocket.
Who Needs an iPad When You Can Build Your Own Computer?
Director of Strategy, Renee Rose Andrade and her husband help their 6-year-old daughter, Aria, build her own Kano computer. Aria has an enduring interest in computer technology (aka iPads and iPhones), and now she has a blast learning to code games, art, music and even apps on her Kano computer.
Put the Elf Back on the Shelf. Leprechaun Traps Spark Creativity That’s as Good as Gold.
Senior Interior Designer, Vickie Nicola, CID and her 5-year-old-son, Gavin, create traps to capture mischievous Leprechauns in the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. Gavin builds the Leprechaun traps out of blocks, legos, and toys and then puts a coin in the center. The goal being to lure in the Leprechaun and have the structure collapse and trap him. It makes for exciting mornings when the family dog or cat knocks the trap down the night before, because Gavin is convinced his traps are working!
Students and faculty at Newcomb Academy in Long Beach will return to class Wednesday to a renovated campus with new features.
Newcomb Academy is the first K-8 school rebuilt as part of the Long Beach Unified School District’s Measure K bond program. The bond program has already created three new schools aside from significant infrastructure updates at different schools sites within the district.
View the original article from the Press Telegram
“I am thrilled and relieved that the State Allocation Board has provided facility hardship approvals under the Seismic Mitigation Program for La Quinta and Pacifica High Schools,” said Margaret Brown, Garden Grove USD’s Director of Facilities. “The State’s multi agency process for approving the plans and specifications is both demanding and complex. We need the best consultants working collaboratively to get the design right while meeting strict deadlines. Westgroup Designs led the team and was able to build consensus for a new design. These rebuilt schools will serve students and staff, as well as parents and the community, for decades to come.”
As part of Garden Grove USD’s facilities improvement efforts, Westgroup fast-track designed a total of 18 new buildings and six modernized existing buildings at La Quinta and Pacifica High Schools in order to meet the bi-annual deadline to secure AB 300 funds. In addition, the projects’ designs are strategically phased in construction as to not interrupt the day-to-day education activities of each campus.
In addition to their work with Garden Grove USD, Westgroup Designs is currently finishing construction of the $42 million Newcomb Academy from Long Beach USD that utilized $18 million of AB 300 funds.
Keys to the Success in Securing and Maximizing AB 300 Funds
1. DSA/OPSC Approvals – Successful approvals hinge on three core elements: trust relations, technical knowledge and funding knowledge. An architecture firm must have deep familiarity with government agencies, and a combination of both technical and funding knowledge enables the firm to effectively strategize the design process in order to maximize funding. With these three strengths, Westgroup’s in-house experts were able to negotiate with OPSC about funding concerns and strategically calculate the funds in accordance with the design.
2. Creative Design Solutions – Complex projects in need of fresh and modernized design elements must undergo strategic planning so as to expedite agency approvals. In order to fully aid Garden Grove USD, Westgroup created solutions that honed in on cost efficient design—not simplified design—in order to maximize the space of the campuses with the funding at hand.
3. Timing – Time is money, and transferring students to a different school or renting interim classrooms while facilities undergo construction is expensive and disruptive for educational delivery. Westgroup’s solution concentrated on a strategic, fast-track and complex phasing to rid the need of interim housing altogether, thereby allowing for day-to-day classroom activities to continue undisturbed.