Aimed at increasing higher education access for low-income and underrepresented communities, Bard High School Early College offers graduates both a high school diploma and a tuition-free Associate in Arts degree from Bard College. To create this new learning environment, a design-build team, led by MCN Build with designer Perkins Eastman, transformed the former four-story Malcolm X Elementary School into a modern facility that could support a higher education program. The school includes well-lit classrooms, collaboration areas, a black box theater, gym, auditorium, cafeteria, science labs, studio, performing art spaces and outdoor learning areas designed to foster a conducive learning environment.

The new school “enables DC Public School students to get a head start on college life,” says Thomas Henderson, project manager, DC Dept. of General Services. “The design-build team did a good job of following the education [specifications] from DC Public Schools to create an environment that’s cohesive and more of a collegiate atmosphere.”

Additionally, the team was required to design the school to achieve LEED Platinum and net-zero energy status. The completed building features a photovoltaic panel-ready roof, geothermal wells and numerous other sustainable elements. The sitework included a hardscape plaza, sidewalks, parking with EV chargers, a basketball court, bioretention structures and an artificial turf playing field surrounded by a running track.

The team was tasked with using as much existing structure as possible. During early analysis, Perkins Eastman and MCN determined that the existing building skin could not perform well enough to meet the high sustainability goals. Kristina Vidal, senior associate at Perkins Eastman DC, says that decision opened up numerous opportunities to improve the look, feel and performance of the building.

“The existing building was a very bunker-like civic structure with small windows,” she says. “Once you peel off the skin, you can put in as many windows as you like. So that was a great opportunity for us to change the look, change the openness and address sustainability needs.”

Adding to the feeling of openness, a large skylight was added to the center of the building with floor plates cut to allow daylight to stream throughout the interior.

After demolishing the existing facade, the team discovered that the structure was out of plumb. For nearly a month, MCN coordinated meetings among the design team, related subcontractors and a building envelope consultant to solve the issue and keep the project on schedule.

The school includes a new black box theater that opens to both the entry and the dining area.
Photo by Joseph Romero, courtesy MCN Build

Supply Chain Pains

With a construction start in January 2021, the team had to navigate the supply constraints during the COVID pandemic. Natasha Pollione, project manager at MCN, says the team was able to successfully keep most materials on track, especially long-lead items. However, the team had to quickly adjust after its facade panel vendor went out of business.

“The facade played a huge role in being able to obtain net zero,” she says. “When the manufacturer went out of business, it was a bit hectic, but luckily we were able to source another panel that had all of the same specs and would still get us to that net-zero goal.”

Safety was also a critical consideration for both workers on site and the surrounding community. One of MCN’s safety strategies leveraged using a vendor as a resource to provide fall protection training for subcontractors. Due to contractual limitations, MCN was not permitted to directly train subcontractors, so the team used a vendor, Atlantic Hardware, as an intermediary to provide training. Atlantic Hardware conducted an onsite fall arrest demonstration, using a dummy to illustrate the consequences of a fall and the correct usage of safety equipment such as harnesses, self-retracting lifelines and shock-absorbing lanyards.

Crews faced another safety challenge during exterior facade work at the east elevation along busy Alabama Avenue SE. Existing power lines that run parallel with the street came within less than 10 ft of the building in some locations, providing little space to safely conduct work from scaffolds. MCN notes that, according to OSHA guidelines, all work conducted near overhead power lines must be done at least 10 ft away to prevent arcing and potential electrical shock hazards. To address the issue, MCN contacted the electrical power company to explore the possibility of de-energizing the power lines and diverting power across the street. That request was denied.

As an alternative to maintaining compliance with OSHA regulations, a project team member devised a plan to build a physical barrier out of wood posts and plywood between the scaffolded work area. Although this method was not conventional, it allowed the work to be done safely and within guidelines.

MCN crews completed 159,642 work hours with no OSHA recordable incidents and no lost-time accidents.

The team also prioritized community engagement from the project’s inception. The team held quarterly meetings with the neighborhood, providing updates on the project and the upcoming schedule, allowing the surrounding neighbors to be included and knowledgeable about the project. MCN also held community events, including a turkey drive and giving out Thanksgiving meals to people from the community.

The centerpiece of the “Socratic Walk” creates the heart of the school with skylights, active corridors and flexible, informal common spaces to gather, socialize and collaborate.
Photo by Joseph Romero, courtesy MCN Build

Sharing With the Neighborhood

As a former elementary school, the building had also been used by the community for years. Vidal says the team was able to create spaces that could be shared with the community, particularly in a multipurpose wing that was separate from the four-story school building. Through community meetings, the team also devised ways to make outdoor spaces that could be shared by the neighborhood.

“We got input on the recreation spaces outside the building,” she recalls. “There had been an open grassy field, an outdoor basketball court and some playground space. So, in developing the site design, we felt it was important to include similar outdoor amenities that could not only serve the high school but were accessible to the surrounding neighborhood for use.”

The project was completed on time and on budget, in July 2023. Now the DC Public Schools boasts a facility that offers a new early-college program along with amenities for the community, while achieving high levels of sustainability that could help guide future Washington, D.C., schools for years to come.