(originally posted on October 22, 2015)

This Fall’s edition of What’s New showcases archaeologists in the field, historical building surveys, a special achievement for one of HDC’s marquee projects, and a special treat from Donut, the office beagle

Stewart Elementary School project achieves LEED for Schools Silver Certification

Stewart Elementary School in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio

In August 2015, Stewart Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio, was awarded LEED for Schools Silver Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainable design and construction methods. Hardlines Design Company, the project’s Architect of Record, led a team that consisted of Columbus City Schools (Owner), Schooley Caldwell Associates (Associate Architect), MKSK Studios (Landscape Architects), Korda/Nemeth Engineering (MEP Engineers), Kabil Associates (Structural Engineers), Williams Interior Design (Furnishings), Smoot Elford Resource (Construction Manager) and Miles McClellan Construction Company (Contractor) to implement 51 points towards the school’s  certification.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nationally-accepted benchmark for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of green buildings. LEED ratings are based on a point system that measures the impact on the environment and those who use the building. The school’s sustainable design and construction efforts included:

• Water savings of more than 20% through the use of low-flow fixtures and faucets.
• Energy cost savings of 34% by utilizing a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VFR) system for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning to optimize energy performance.
• Diverted more than 861 tons of construction waste from the landfill, or about 96% of all construction waste generated.
• Using more than 10 percent recycled materials and 10 percent regionally sourced materials in the building’s construction, thereby saving transportation and production costs.
• Rehabilitating an existing downtown structure to minimize demolition waste and combat sprawl, eliminating the need associated with new buildings to clear new land and build new roads and other infrastructure.

HDC Archaeologists Complete Fieldwork on Prehistoric Sites in Maryland

HDC archaeologist Terry Glaze excavates a test unit in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland

In August and September of 2015, HDC archaeologists were tasked by AECOM/URS to evaluate six prehistoric sites located within the construction limits for the expansion of Maryland Route 404 in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. The six sites had been previously identified after a survey in 1990, with no further work conducted until this year. Working in the steaming late summer weather of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, HDC excavated 378 shovel test pits and 56 one-meter-square test units at the six sites, recovering approximately 1,600 artifacts. The artifacts mainly consisted of debitage, with a limited amount pottery, projectile points, fire-cracked rocks, and groundstone tools recovered as well, along with a handful of historical artifacts dating from the mid-1700s to the present. The sites appeared to represent a series of short-term resource procurement camps. Analysis of these sites for National Register eligibilty is ongoing.

HDC surveys historic resources at the NASA Glenn Research Center

Building 4 at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Brook Park, Ohio

HDC was sub-contracted by Ross Barney Architects to conduct a Historic Resources Survey and National Register of Historic Places assessment for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Glenn Research Center (GRC) at Lewis Field in Brook Park, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The survey and National Register assessment included architectural survey of the exteriors of all standing structures within the Central Area of GRC, development of a historic context, and recommendations for a National Register-eligible district. The survey and National Register evaluation was completed to assist NASA and GRC in maintaining compliance with Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and to provide guidance for the management of historically significant built resources on the campus.

The GRC is highly significant in the history of American aeronautics. In 1940, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), the precursor to NASA, acquired land near the Cleveland airport for an aeronautics research facility, the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory. The focus of this facility would be on developing and improving liquid-cooled and air-cooled engines. Over the years, this facility would contribute to advances in turbojet technology, deicing, and rocket propulsion.

HDC staff performed the survey in June and documented 128 buildings, structures, and objects. After evaluating the resources, HDC proposed the creation of a historic district composed of 82 contributing resources. In addition, HDC recommended that two wind tunnel complexes, the 8×6 Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel complex and the 10×10 Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel complex, are individually eligible for the National Register, in addition to contributing to the proposed GRC historic district. HDC also recommends that Building 4, the Flight Research Building, is individually eligible for the National Register and contributes to the proposed historic district, because it is the most iconic building on the GRC campus, and the building retains the integrity necessary to convey its significance as a large open hanger and support facilities still used to house aircraft for GRC.

Donut’s First Movie!

Donut the Beagle has often been the target of still photographers since she first arrived at the office in 2004. When she posed for a photograph with Santa Claus at a local Petsmart, the photographer commented that she was “very attentive for a beagle.” (Was that a compliment?) When HDC president Charissa Durst first got a smartphone with video, she made test videos of Donut running around the backyard. It wasn’t until this year that she attempted to edit one of her videos and add free online music to it. This video shows Donut actually swimming in Big Darby Creek at Prairie Oaks Metro Park, with music by The Builders and the Butchers called “Cradle on Fire.”