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Westover Job Corps Center
 Architect
Du Bose Associates, Inc. Architects
49 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105
www.dbarch.com
General Description
Location: Chicopee, Massachusetts
Date Bid: Aug 2006
Construction Period: Oct 2006 to Feb 2008
Total Square Feet: 26,000 Site: 2.5 acres.
Number of Buildings: One; 22 classrooms each seating 20 to 25.
Building Size: First floor, 26,000; total, 26,000 square feet.
Building Height: First floor, 21’; total, 21’.
Basic Construction Type: New/2B Unprotected Non-Combustible.
Foundation: Slab-on-grade. Exterior Walls: Brick, cement
composite panel rain screen system. Roof: Membrane.
Floors: Concrete. Interior Walls: Metal stud drywall.
Projected/Modeled Energy Usuage KBTU/SF/yr: 1,233.3 MBTU.
Construction Team
Structural Engineer: Santo Domingo Engineering, LLC - 2074 Park
Street, Hartford, CT 06106
General Contractor: P & S Construction, Inc. - 35 John Street,
Lowell, MA 01852
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Loureiro Engineering
Associates, Inc. - 100 Northwest Drive, Plainville, CT 06062
Cost Estimator: Leach Consulting Company, LLC - 1010 Wethersfield
Avenue, #306, Hartford, CT 06114
Civil Engineer: URS Corporation AES - 500 Enterprise Drive, Rocky
Hill, CT 06067
The new 26,000-square-foot classroom building for the Westover Job Corps
Center is master-planned to become the first building of a new
vocational education quadrangle. The building’s most public functions
are designed to engage an outdoor entrance plaza in order to enhance the
sense of “campus”, to greet pedestrian traffic from the residence halls
on the main quadrangle on campus and to allow ease of nighttime use. The
Job Corps concept of creating a “Community of Learners” was achieved
through a campus setting that fosters independence and individual
growth. The use of bold interior color gives the building an inviting
presence and conveys an energetic attitude to the Job Corps Center
students.
The building exceeds the stringent Massachusetts energy code by using a
high R-Value cement composite panel “rain screen wall system”. Other
“Green Design” features include the use of natural light via
clerestories and large windows in public areas and classrooms, waterless
urinals and occupancy sensors for lighting. Energy STAR® rated equipment
was used throughout.
The planning process involved working with the Department of Labor (DOL)
prototypes in review sessions with DOL and P.B. Dewberry (DOL’s Program
Manager), as well as with the center’s operator. The prototypes evolved
into a layout that is unique to the Westover Center’s needs.
The Job Corps program targets students that either did not complete high
school and/or completed high school but do not have a career goal. The
program teaches vocational skills that focus on the local area’s economy
and job placement needs. The center also offers GED programs and
encourages all students to complete their high school diploma. Nighttime
classes and nighttime availability of study and library spaces are also
intended to encourage study skills.
The existing campus reuses a portion of the Westover Air Force Base. The
original Westover buildings are typically three stories with exposed
concrete frames and brick and glass infill. The new building uses light
and dark colored brick stripes at the main entrance to relate to the
original concrete and brick buildings on campus.
Michael O’Malley, Head Architect for the Department of Labor (DOL)
summed up DOL’s satisfaction with the completed classroom building by
saying, “The use of light and color identity were the primary focus of
the design, which was well achieved. Spectacular. It looks well thought
out and inviting.”
Manufacturers
DIV. 4: Brick: Redland; Cement Composite Panel:
Cement Board Fabricators.
DIV. 7: Roof: Firestone.
DIV. 8: Windows: Winco; Curtainwall, Entrances &
Storefronts: EFCO Corporation.
DIV. 9: Tile: Dal-Tile; Carpet: Monterey; VCT:
Armstrong.
DIV. 26: Lighting: Lithonia, Lite Control, Ellipitar,
Cooper.
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