New Kindergarten Building Opens

Construction of a new 4,000-square foot kindergarten building was completed at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (SHS) last week. The students were welcomed to the four classroom facility today for the first day of school; the kindergarten class previously shared a building with preschoolers.

Built in 11 weeks, the project was awarded April 1 to XL Construction in partnership with Aedis Architects and Daedalus Structural Engineering to build sustainable TimberQuest classrooms. TimberQuest employs cross-laminated timber to create prefabricated wall and roof panels offsite that are erected and installed at school sites.

"In line with the strategic growth of our campus, we were ready to expand our kindergarten space; we needed to both break ground and have construction complete during summer break," said Richard Dioli, SHS director of schools. "Another must was choosing a company that shared our commitment to sustainability. We worked with XL Construction previously, so it was natural for us to reach out to them for ideas and the TimberQuest concept had immediate appeal."

The overall energy efficiency supports SHS's sustainability philosophy, said Michael Dwyer, SHS director of operations, who oversaw the project. This building stands as a shining example of these values that we teach to our students, he said.

"Two of the things we liked most about the TimberQuest classroom design is the 'daylighting' created by the structure's large windows combined with the exposed wood interior that make the classrooms very pleasant and appealing, Dwyer added.