BRPH, UF officials break ground on design-build project
February 14, 2011
STORY CREDIT: The University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - It won't take a magician to make the G-wing of P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School disappear.
A groundbreaking ceremony Feb. 14 marked the official start of demolition of the elementary wing to make way for the school's new elementary building. The project is the first phase of a total campus revitalization that will transform P.K. Yonge, the University of Florida's K-12 laboratory school, into what school and UF officials describe as a model "21st century technological powerhouse."
The G wing, which holds fourth and fifth grade classes, is the building closest to the main office and Tumbling Creek, which winds through the heart of the school campus. Those classes have moved to portables on the north end of campus.
The new 37,000-square-foot replacement wing will house kindergarten through fifth grade classes. The first-phase project is expected to take 14 months and cost about $9 million. The new wing is slated to be first in line in an effort to make the entire school a green campus. The building is being designed to achieve 30 percent greater energy efficiency than traditional school facilities. UF project officials are striving for a platinum rating in LEED certification.
The entire makeover calls for tearing down all but five newer campus buildings, beginning with the elementary school, which will go from three single-story wings to one, two-story facility. Plans include several new buildings including a café, a global media center and a community outreach center. A new gymnasium, health and fitness center and a jogging and fitness track also are slated. For Master Plan details, visit: http://www.facilities.ufl.edu/viewprj.php?prj=6325
Plans for the new school embrace modern teaching methods and technology, tools and space considerations. "The new building will be set up in a learning community model," said P.K. Yonge Director Fran Vandiver.
Students also will have outdoor learning areas surrounded by nature, indoor reading lofts and comfortable chairs facing each other instead of all staring ahead at the teacher, as well as traditionally organized learning experiences. Teachers will have designated workrooms and planning areas, accessible throughout the day to encourage collaborative teaching efforts.
