| EVANS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL |
| Spring-Ford Area School District (SFASD), Royersford, PA |
| WALT DISNEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - RENOVATION |
| Pennsbury School District, Levittown, PA |
| THE SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE (Formerly, Microsoft® High School) |
| The School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA |
| CENTRAL BUCKS WEST HIGH SCHOOL RENOVATION |
| Central Bucks School District, Doylestown, PA |
Schiller and Hersh was responsible for the HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection systems design for the new 100,000 sq. ft. Evans Elementary School in Limerick, PA. It uses the same innovative geothermal heating and cooling system that was used at SFASD’s Upper Providence Elementary School (see below). It uses circulating water, not fossil fuel, to heat and cool the building.
- Heating and cooling systems are designed around water source heat pumps supplied by a closed loop geothermal system, which includes a geothermal well field consisting of more than two hundred 350-foot deep wells
- New water, sanitary and fire protection systems design
| Completed: 2007 |
| Total: $19 million |
| S&H Portion: $6.9 million |
| Completed: 2006 |
| Total: $9.9 million |
| S&H Portion: $5 million |
| Completed: 2006 |
| Total: $65 million |
| S&H Portion: $8 million |
| Completed: 2004 |
| Total: $5.9 million |
| S&H Portion: $2.6 million |
| Completed: 2004 |
| Total: $18.7 million |
| S&H Portion: $5.9 million |
Walt Disney Elementary School in Levittown, PA, was the first school to bear Mr. Disney’s name. He sent Disney artists to decorate the school’s interior and attended the dedication ceremony in 1955, laying the school’s cornerstone. Our firm designed the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and telecommunications systems for the school’s complete renovation, finished in 2006.
- The building remained fully occupied during all 13 construction phases of the renovation
- A hybrid system operated throughout construction to serve both newer hot water heating systems and existing steam heating systems at the same time, while the building was fully-converted to hot water heating
- This renovation was the catalyst for the Disney family’s re-instituting both its relationship with and financial gifts to the school
In September 2006 the School District of Philadelphia, in partnership with Microsoft®, opened the first, state-of-the-art School of the Future in West Philadelphia. This $65 million, 160,000 sq. ft. school serves 750 students in grades 9-12. Schiller and Hersh provided the programming and electrical engineering design, working in close coordination with representatives from Microsoft®. A charette design process was used in the beginning of the project, including interviews with all relevant District staff.
- Electrical support systems and emergency shut-down systems for all labs within the facility.
- Roof mounted photovoltaic system with web-based data acquisition and energy savings monitoring. Curtain window system incorporating integrated photovoltaics within the glass panels, which provides direct contact learning for the students.
- Integrated classroom lighting systems, which incorporate general classroom lighting modes, audio/visual modes, and dual-technology infrared/ultrasonic motion sensors.
- Automatic lighting controls within the building.
- Isolated ground technology power source system for clean, surge protected power to all technology equipment, including classroom LCD projectors, flat-panel plasma screens throughout the building, and classroom computer and IT rooms.
- UPS systems for all IT switches and servers.
- Hidden wireless access points throughout the facility to support a fully electronic educational curriculum (no books).
- Hidden weapons detection system in main entries, which is invisible to all staff, students and visitors.
- State-of-the-art integrated CCTV surveillance, card access and security system for the entire facility that is tied into the District’s central security monitoring systems.
- Lightning protection system for the entire facility.
- 3,000A, 480V electrical service via a 1500kVA transformer containing environmentally safe Envirotran bio-liquid.
- 250kW backup emergency generator with overlapping neutral automatic transfer switch.
Central Bucks West High School has one of the best sports programs in Pennsylvania. Its football team has been AAAA state champion 4 times and runner-up 2 times in the last 15 years. Our firm was responsible for the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and telecommunications systems design for the complete upgrade of the school’s athletic facilities (gyms, locker rooms, weight rooms) and music facilities.
| BRIDGE VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL |
| Central Bucks School District, Furlong, PA |
| UPPER PROVIDENCE ELEMENTARY AND THE 5-7 GRADE CENTER |
| Spring-Ford Area School District (SFASD), Royersford, PA |
Central Bucks School District’s new 135,000 sq. ft. Bridge Valley Elementary School in Furlong, PA, opened in 2004. Our firm was responsible for the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and telecommunications systems design on this 1,100 student building.
- All classroom HVAC units are located in closets off the main corridors and are ducted into the classrooms to minimize noise and allow maintenance to occur during classroom hours without interruption of the students
Spring-Ford Area School District retained our firm for the HVAC, electrical, plumbing and fire protection designs for its new 330,000 sq. ft. 5-7 Grade Center and its new 100,000 sq. ft. Upper Providence Elementary School, both situated on an 80-acre site in Royersford, PA. An innovative geothermal heating and cooling system for the new schools that uses circulating water, not fossil fuel, to heat and cool the building has received Honor Awards for design at both the state and national levels from the American Council of Engineering Companies.
- Heating and cooling systems are designed around water source heat pumps supplied by a closed loop geothermal system, which includes a geothermal well field consisting of more than six hundred 350-foot deep wells for both buildings
- New water, sanitary and fire protection systems design
- Design of new 34.5kV electrical services with indoor 4000A switchboards, new lighting, fire alarm, and theatrical lighting systems
| Completed: 2004 |
| Total: $51.7 million |
| S&H Portion: $15.2 million |
| WHITEHALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL |
| Norristown Area School District, Norristown, PA |
Schiller and Hersh designed the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and telecommunications systems for this new, 70,000 sq. ft. elementary school.
- Design of the first ice storage facility for a school in Pennsylvania -- using low temperature air and VAV in conjunction with a 80 ton reciprocating chiller and a completely Computerized Energy Management System
- Design of a 13.2kV to 120/208 volt substation and the associated power distribution systems
- Design of fire alarm, clock and public address, security, telephone, emergency power, and communication systems
For the design of the Ice Storage Air Conditioning System at Whitehall Elementary School, Schiller and Hersh Associates was awarded:
- First Place, ASHRAE International Technology Award for Institutional Buildings (1994)
- First Place, ASHRAE Regional Technology Award, Regional III, Institutional Buildings, New (1992-1993)
- Excellence in Engineering Design, Consulting Engineers Council (1994)
