Building Model Unveiled
The Ann Arbor News
By Pamela Appea
A miniature model of Tecumseh’s new high school was unveiled Monday at Herrick Elementary School.
Seeing the final three-dimensional model for the first time were residents, teachers and school board members, said Gary P. Jelin of TMP Architecture.
Jelin said the high school--slated to pen in 2001 at a cost of $35 million--will have light copper-colored brick and green glass windows.
The green tint was chosen, he said, to help control the heat level inside the school. When sunlight comes through green colored glass, it tends to filter out infrared light and ultimately retains the heat, Jelin said.
Since Tecumseh’s new high school will have full air-conditioning, the tinted windows were used to help the district save money on energy costs.
“We think it’s a prudent thing for the district. If we can save the district money, then they use the additional funds to put back in educational programs,” he said.
The architects also gave a virtual reality tour of the future school’s main corridor, showing carpet and tile samples to be used in the interior. The property has been cleared and the concrete base for the building has been poured, officials said.
The interior of the high school will have muted colors like light brown tile and gray carpeting, so that student artwork and trophies can be prominently displayed through the main corridor of the high school, Jelin said.
The new school will beat 760 Brown St., half a mile west of the current high school.
The firm also said they plan to build skylights on the roof so that specialty classrooms, like the applied technology and the three art studio classrooms, can benefit from extra sunlight.
Landscaping for the high school is in the final stages of planning, officials said. The school will have 600 parking spots--100 for staff on the north end of the school and 500 for students and visitors for extracurricular events on the south end, TMP representatives said.
Plans for school parking, said Eric R. Sassak, a TMP associate, were designed so that student buses will enter and exit on the north end of the school and student drivers will use the south entrance and exit.
The three-dimensional model should be available for public-viewing in two weeks.
“They’ve been very involved,” Jelin said of school officials. “They have given us input that was very helpful (such as) the fact that the community wanted some reference to the historic buildings in the district.
“I think they feel it’s a special building for Tecumseh.”
Originally published Tuesday, November 23, 1999
