Notre Dame of De Pere
De Pere, WI | Education
Overview
Notre Dame of De Pere, a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade Catholic school system, embarked on a journey to create a state-of-the-art education facility. Through innovative engineering solutions, ISG developed a comfortable and safe environment for the students—ultimately helping the school fulfill its mission to strengthen children in academics, character, and faith.
Opportunity
Through a desire to unite students, Notre Dame of De Pere decided to consolidate its elementary school and middle school into one facility. The existing 2.1-acre elementary school site offered an opportunity to construct a new facility with efficient, energy-saving mechanical and electrical systems and add stormwater management which didn’t previously exist on the site. Groth Architects, selected to design the school, engaged ISG to provide mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering services. ISG’s participation also included coordination with the City of De Pere for the surrounding street re-design and construction.
Solution
As part of a multi-firm collaboration, strategies were developed to construct a new facility adjacent to the existing elementary school with minimal disruption to learning throughout construction. During the process, ISG provided site concepts, developed mechanical and electrical designs, established stormwater management plans, and coordinated efforts with the City and regulatory agencies.
The 450-student capacity school features an expansive commons space and a dynamic ceiling design, evaluated by ISG through a coordinated engineering effort. The full-scope mechanical design also required significant collaboration and included ISG’s utilization of cloud-based project management software to share weekly updates with the teams.
The mechanical, electrical, and technology designs were developed to take advantage of available incentives revealed through an energy design review. The lighting fixtures, for example, were estimated to outperform code by 30% to offer the school an annual energy savings of over $3,400. ISG’s electrical and technology design also incorporated a voice evacuation life safety system (fire alarm) to enhance building safety for students and staff.
The site was fully developed by ISG with sidewalks and road curbing on all sides for pedestrian safety and other benefits such as a playground and parking. A rain garden was added to manage stormwater and landscaping while also respecting neighboring residences. In extensive coordination with the City, ISG provided a Traffic Impact Analysis, which changed the traffic pattern of two adjacent streets to one way. This maximized flow, enhanced safety conditions, improved student drop-off and pick-up, and lessened the new facility’s impact on local traffic.