At this time, some new wings and the new entrance to Weston High School not complete (although other new parts including new gym and facilities as well as the science wing are up and running) and final ribbon cutting a way away...meanwhile, the future of "Kinderland" (r.) up in the air;

Above, entrance to Weston Middle School (l.) and view of  Hurlbutt South and East Houses (from the Onion Barn) on the same day in December, 2005.

On the left, donated trees from Stecks (thank you!);  new football field goalposts;

New 3-4-5 school takes shape and form;  tertiary treatment plant (note generator in yellow);  the big blue truck;


The form of the new sections of Weston High School try to meet up with the old building...

You can tell CT DEP and Conservation called O&G's attention to importance of S&E controls.  Silt-Fence City is my new name for School Road.  On the right, October 30, 2004 photo show the road paved (as far as a turnaround at the 3-4-5--not yet paved to meet WHS and School Road).

WESTON, CT. SCHOOLS & FIELDS CONSTRUCTION:  September 26, 2004, @ one month on into the school year...see how the 3-4-5 and W.H.S. are doing!
 

Parking & Paving Plan for School Road...seems to be working:
As of Sept. 26, 2004, road to rear of W.M.S. not paved--I would think it MUST BE DONE to some measure of completeness in time for...

ELECTION DAY Tuesday November 2, 2004!  (Voting at WMS)

Things are taking shape:
At the new 3-4-5 school site - road, curbs, S&E controls and...the building is emerging!  It was very difficult to find dry land on the campus for a new 3-4-5.  Even making it two stories was a tight fit!  NOTE:  the road to the 3-4-5 (above) loops around to the end of the high school and intersects School Road - a "queuing lane" for school buses uploading/loading passengers.  Times are different for pick up/drop-off at the 2 buildings.

Site plan comes to life!
Look at how the new gym and clerestory-corridor at WHS relates to new 3-4-5 structure...grass is now or will be being planted for some greensward at the parking lot (front of photo).  Autumn colors show the construction as it fits in the timeline--if the blue tarps cover bricks at the high school, I sure hope we don't get a visit from one or more of the seasonal storms raising havoc in Florida.

See the high school grow new wings!
Do you think the elegance of the theatre space will be enhanced by the addition of art and music rooms?  (See the steel for these above.)  Not much new at this end of the building in the last month (my observation--I really do not know this for a fact at all) based upon the photographs on this page.  However, it is PRECISELY at this corner of the high school that connections to the new infrastructure for sewage treatment must tie in!

Library/Media space...airconditioned (see unit behind structure--not the blue tarp):
High School getting more dramatic by the moment...we hope the infiltration matter gets solved soon.  Notice orange fencing--this looks like a clear indication of where to go or not go (for what purpose we don't know).

WESTON, CT. SCHOOLS & FIELDS CONSTRUCTION:  how is it coming along one week on into the school year?

HURLBUTT AND 3-4-5:
School has been open for a week, North House Field hole filled (it was fun playing there all summer) - see the "progress" of new parking lot with proper signage;  new 3-4-5 school taking shape.  We took walking tour with O&G, Building Committee and Construction Manager September 1st - looked like progress to us!

Weston High School:  new 2-story library/research center going up (this new shape for roofing [original was flat]) at the high school is an echo of the Middle School--see how much like clouds these new additions look!  Weston High is getting a "skirt" - the administrative wing and entry to the dramatic auditorium in the original building.  At the right is the second gym's roof (clerestory hallway between gyms and workout places also under construction).  Notice how level the area between School Road and the parking lot has gotten (?).

Tertiary Treatment Plant: now has roof and brick-work unifying it with other buildings on School Road.  Will effluent be unveiled when sheet comes down?  And the refreshment stand is in at Little League Fields - how do you park to go swimming at lovely Bisceglie-Scribner Park? 

School Road:  The photos below were taken before schools opened.  The schools opened without any problems.

Parking and Paving:  what we saw just before the last weekend before schools opened...
Right now the high school parking lot and School Road seem to be paved (photo at left from August 20 shows it in the process of being paved with binder course+);  the only part of the project down to the dirt (as of Wednesday, August 25) is the new and wider driveway to the rear of Weston Middle School.  And behind the high school, (next to wetlands) where the new science wing ('K') is attached, if we heard correctly, water may be a problem (not related to previous Army Corps approvals).  Solution being put in place.
In Progress:
The NEW 3-4-5 school is not due to be opened until next year (center - walls going up as we speak) and the tertiary treatment plant is not scheduled to be on line until some time in September (right) -- arrangements are worked out and toilets are functioning now - temporary procedural substitute for new tertiary treatment plant in place.  Design changes for glass tint will make inner workings of plant invisible.

PLAYING FIELDS:  Fields for little league at Bisceglie Park (left) to be open for weekend use only this Fall;

Morehouse Farm Park and the Minerva Heady House at right--note newly paved road that winds its way to high point where fields are located (for community use).  It is here some of the best views in Weston can be seen--now everyone who visits Morehouse Farm Park can enjoy spectacular vistas across the Saugatuck Reservoir.

It is now July.  Sunday the back of W.M.S. serves as safe area for pitching wedge practice, X-country running...

NOTES: Bisceglie fields ready for finishing off, planting (?) - not shown above because it is dangerous to park on the side of Newtown Tpke, even on a Sunday afternoon!  L to R:  1)Pile of sand moves to Hurlbutt...2)ring road gets wider, 3-4-5 too!  3)Green construction trailer in front of high school means business--additions to the front just budding!!!  4)Tertiary treatment plant sits high up and will be bermed at back.  P.S.  it is very close to neighbors--we could hear a radio playing the lovely Sunday afternoon these snapshots were taken...

Special Town Meeting June 17, 2004 did not save any of the trees at the left;  more June progress shots!

The last weeks of school...unofficial genre scenes, Weston School Campus construction and environs, June 2004.

• Special Town Meeting March 22, 2007 at 8pm, Weston High School Cafeteria to reapropriate $$ from Auditorium for Middle School to restoring Weston High School Auditorium and replacing old section of roof at the high school:

• Board of Education votes July 17. 2006 to defer WMS Auditorium and recommends to the Board of Selectmen and the Town that funds for Question Three of the November 15, 2001 Referendum be spent instead on upgrades to the WHS Auditorium and other arts efforts at the Middle School (not the official wording).

• ARO retained to take another look at Middle School Auditorium with revised Ed Specs in early 2006;  results of their investigation are that nothing can be built for the budget amount, even with a smaller capacity auditorium and "bare bones" program.

Agenda for Stage Three of Architecture Design Competition

• 8:00-8:15am  PCAC Design Competition Selection Committee readiness meeting/done.
• 8:15am-8:30am Opening remarks by chairman of PCAC Design Competition/done.

Introduction of Reed Kroloff, the director of the competition;
Reed's welcome, introduces jurors and explains the process.
 
• 8:30am-9:30am  TEAM 1:  ARO (Architecture Research Office LLP)/done (appeared on Town TV)

• 10am-11am  TEAM 2:  Office dA/done (appeared on Town TV)

• 11:30am-12:30am  TEAM 3:  TEN Arquitectos  (appeared on Town TV)
• 12:30pm-1pm  PUBLIC COMMENT/public asked questions after each presentation (briefly);  Committee resumed discussion in public after lunch;
• 1pm-2:30pm  Executive Session for pre-contract discussions.  NOTE:  Decision made after executive session, vote taken was unanimous in favor of awarding first place to...PLEASE WAIT FOR A FEW DAYS FOR INTERNET ANNOUNCEMENT (A COURTESY TO NON-WINNERS) - thank you for your patience!  Photos taken by "About Town" of all three proposals coming later today!

• Minutes for the three (3) meetings of this body (12/2/03, 12/20/03 and 1/5/04) for approval/done
• Welcome Lynn Saltz P.R. professional/done
• Elect Chairperson for P.R. sub-committee/Paul Audley to be Chair.
• Formulate PAC marketing plan/discussion of how to assure the public is informed of this new stage in the Weston Middle School project;
• Public vote for FINALISTS on the recommended three short-listed design architecture firms in the Performing Arts Center Design Competition/unanimous--the three firms noted immediately below
• Any other business/discussion of how to coordinate publicity and assure follow-through in various media outlets.

The complex forms each of the seven (7) members of the Committee shown below filled out were tabulated by the Competition Director (Reed Kroloff) and the numbers told the story (if there was a tie, there were special conditions prepared as to how to determine rank order [since only three firms were to go on to the "final" stage])...the next phase will not be carried out the same way, because all 3 firms will have to produce "fly-thru" video, a model and 3 "boards" full of design information.  Perhaps this material will be shown on the Town TV Channel during the Saturday, January 31, 2004 final presentation competition?

Four prominent architects unveiled designs this morning for the $150 million Connecticut Center for Science and Exploration that are modern, eye-catching, with views of both downtown Hartford and the Connecticut River.

The finalists in the international competition had been given a difficult charge: to design an architectural tour de force that complements Hartford's skyline and retains its own identity.  Planners want a science center that's flexible, accessible, secure, "green" and provides arresting views of the city and the river. They also want it on time and under budget and done on a difficult, 2.5-acre site.

Though planners are seeking public input on the design, they have given themselves a tight timetable in which to act. They have said they will announce an architect from among the four on Friday.  The four firms vying for the challenge are among the best in their business, complete with international renown and resumes stretching from Malaysia to Minnesota.

They are Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects, New Haven; Moshe Safdie and Associates Inc. Architects and Planners, Boston; Zaha Hadid Architects, London; and Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner Inc., Venice, Calif.

The science center is paying $50,000 for each plan, leaving it with ownership rights and the ability to mix and match design elements.

The small site at the northern edge of Adriaen's Landing presents some design constraints, according to a museum consultant. Construction can only go one way -- up. The site has environmental issues and the building will need at least two major entrances, one on Columbus Boulevard and another at the level of Riverfront Recapture's walkway over I-91.

The cost of construction is estimated around $100 million. The finished center would cost about $150 million and include exhibits exploring the Connecticut River, health and medicine, outer space and the relation of science to the state's arts and heritage venues.  The 160,000-square-foot building also would include a large screen theater, a smaller multi-use theater, an education center with themed classrooms and teacher resources, a restaurant and a gift shop.

The science center would become the second biggest in New England, behind the Boston Museum of Science (420,000 square feet). Nationally, it would fall in the medium-size category.