Project Goals
In 2011, Arlington Public Schools (APS) hired five architectural firms to conduct feasibility studies of 16 schools and several community centers. In 2014, it expanded the project to include five additional schools. The goal of these studies was to develop a strategy for renovating or adding to existing schools and/or building new facilities to support the County’s rapidly growing student population. APS also selected three engineering firms, one of which was 2RW, that the architectural firms could hire to assist with the studies. 2RW was selected by four of the five firms and ultimately conducted feasibility assessments of 18 schools and two community centers.
Services
2RW’s scope of work included:
- Conducting site visits to assess the conditions of the existing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection (MEP/FP) systems
- Meeting with each facility’s administrative and maintenance staff to understand their facility requirements and challenges
- Analyzing each facility’s electric and gas consumption to assess overall building energy performance
Collaborating with architectural partners to understand the scope of potential building renovations and/or additions
- Identifying the impact building additions would have on the existing facility’s infrastructure
Recommending replacements or extensions of existing MEP/FP systems to serve renovated or new buildings
Results
Based on these feasibility study findings, APS chose to proceed with two projects and 2RW provided MEP/FP design services for both:
- Ashlawn Elementary School addition and renovation
- Discovery Elementary School design and construction
