The structural steel building is clad in three types of brick and features a granite base. The curved wall on the front of the structure added a degree of difficulty to the masonry work and layout of the interior partitions.

The roof housing the play yard is composed of multiple slabs, explains Bill Dimas, project manager for The DeMatteis Organization, Elmont, N,Y. The first layer is a structural slab. Next is a fill slab pitched for drainage and topped with roofing and insulation. The final slab is topped by play yard surface.

Documentation for construction sustainability reporting is extensive and requires full time personnel to monitor and track. “With 85 percent of the waste being diverted and recycled there is a tremendous volume of materials to keep track of and get into the proper hands,” says Salvatore Novello, DeMatteis vice president.

BPCA’s green guidelines required DeMatteis to develop an IAQ program for removing vapors emitted from finishes during construction. Finishes are divided into two types. The first includes materials such as sheet rock, wood flooring and adhesives. The second encompasses finishes that readily absorb vapors, like ceiling tiles and carpeting.

On a floor by floor basis vapors from the first type of finish are flushed out before installation starts on the second type of finish. “I’m moving 1.6 billion cu ft of air through the building with giant exhaust and supply fans,” Dimas explains. Double loaded corridors with windows that open on both sides of the building facilitate air movement through the floors.

“The flush out processes throw a little bit of a wrench into the typical construction means and methods,” Novello says. Construction typically gets into a floor by floor sequence that has continuity. With the flush out process there is a lot of stop and go as different floors are vented for vapors. “We have developed a plan that is working well but this is probably one of the biggest issues in terms of constructability.”

Once construction is completed, the permanent ventilation systems will be temporarily outfitted with highly sensitive filters and used for the final flush out of the facility. “We have to move 435 million cubic feet of air before we occupy the building,” Dimas says.

Keeping the project on schedule is proving difficult due to the aggressive schedule and design changes. “We are working a lot of overtime to make up for the lost time created by the design changes,” Dimas says. “It is absolutely necessary for this school to open in September.”