1994 JAN-JUN-HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE

Home Browse Search

Peter said they did an elementary school in Mass. and Nantucket high school . Michael said they have done 10 high schools in 7-8 years . They did their homework on our site , they know our needs. They looked like they would be expensive. Peter said the services SMMA get from Perkins and Will is the programmer ( i .e. Dr. Collabro) and they translate it into a design . Mr. Frenette said 50% of the design would be done in NYC. They have Mass. examples for the Committee to visit. He like them because they have good resources and good designs. Why didn ' t they get interviewed in the first place? The Committee was stressing a lot of high school experience - ones we could go visit. The people most impressed with SMMA did not go to the first round of interviews. They were very prepared and said what we wanted to hear. SMMA showed a good understanding of school programs. Beniamin Thompson/Holmes and Edwards Bill Jones said forget it. He did not find them adequately qualified. They are in a different league from the other power houses. Merry Sue said the closest thing to a high school was the NYU law library. They are not high school people. They have never even built an elementary school in this State. Janice said they are very talented but do not have what we need. Paul said they have no High School experience and no State experience. Joe said they would like to build a high school , but he does not think they are qualified for Mashpee's project. Steve said they have interesting projects but not relevant to what we are doing. Michael said they have no high schools , did not do a site visit. Graham Gund Bill Jones feels they are very interesting but very expensive - like going to Tiffany for an alarm clock. Merry Sue said they have no high school programming experience. She does not want to be the first high school they have done . It is a very small firm. Janice said they were originally 1 of her top 3 . They are on a different level , for a different pocketbook. There work is beautiful but it does not apply to us. Paul said when he asked if they had done a high school , only 1 member of his firm had, not while she was with the firm. Brookline elementary school was built at $120 sq foot, State guidelines for elementary school is $80-90 sq foot. Bill Martiros said it is a shame the Committee is intimidated by the presentation and the name. He talked to the Chairman of the building committee and went to see the school . Whether we choose them or not you would be re-miss not to go see the school just to get ideas . All the rest of the schools you see will look like they are not finished. With Graham Gund you get good quality of ideas , it is the material you choose, for the price you want to pay. He has built beautiful buildings all over the country. You can ' t shut him down because of his presentation -because he is a fancy guy. 6