MILFORD, MA – The Connecticut Building Congress (CBC) announced this week that it will recognize the Town of Newtown, Consigli Construction Co., Inc., Svigals+Partners, and STV|DPM for their collaborative work to build the new Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Conn. The team will formally accept the 2017 Project Teams Awards at a presentation on June 13. The award recognizes projects that exemplify project team excellence and represent the best practices in teamwork by project owners, architects, engineers, constructors and trades.

“The powerful purpose of this project was never lost on us from day one,” said Matthew Consigli, president of Consigli. “It was truly an honor to be a partner on this special project and we couldn’t have asked for a better team. We’re humbled to receive this award and thank the CBC for this recognition.”

“It was the best possible team for this unique endeavor,” says Jay Brotman, AIA, managing partner with Svigals+Partners. “And that includes First Selectman Pat Llodra and the entire Sandy Hook-Newtown community. To receive this award recognizing this three-year collaborative effort is an important honor.”

“This project was the best team effort I have ever seen, with total commitment from everyone involved,” said STV|DPM vice president and project executive Mark DuPre, Sr. Assoc. AIA. “We’re truly honored to be a part of such a concerted partnership.”

The state-of-the-art, 88,000-square-foot school for PreK-4 students opened its doors last fall, after a 32-month timeline that included extensive public engagement, careful planning and design, and best-in-class construction management practices.

The project was inspired by the strong sense of community and the inherent natural beauty of Newtown. The final design includes a curving plan that reaches out across the site as arms in a welcoming gesture to students.

The school features three classroom wings that extend like fingers of an open hand on the site. A total of three courtyards and one outdoor amphitheater serve as an outdoor classroom and space for school events.

Other features of the project include two rubber surfaced playgrounds, marchice and garapa wood siding and colorful vertical sunshades in orange, red and yellow that bring bright stripes of color to the school’s exterior and address the east/west sun angles.