by Kelly McCoy
When Matt Crozier, chief operating officer of Middlesex School, works to implement the master plan for this quintessential New England boarding school, he looks for partners who share his passion for maintaining the school’s rich history, while recommending innovative solutions to help control maintenance and operating costs, as well as energy usage. “We have great love and respect for what was created here over a century ago,” explains Crozier. “However, we are living in the 21st century and we care about natural light, safety and energy use. We do our best to maintain the history with building systems, architecture and details that keep up with the times.”
An essential part of Middlesex School’s master plan focuses on windows. As iconic brick dorms and academic buildings have been updated, it has been essential to maintain the style and trim with exacting precision so that the campus community and visitors never even notice the change to buildings from the outside. However, inside is a different story.
Many of the windows are weight and pulley style, dating back as much as 90 years. A key reason to replace these windows is to make them operable and energy-efficient, improving quality of life for all who live, learn and work on the campus.
With updating and new buildings in mind, Middlesex School chose Marvin Windows. Crozier works with the Marvin Commercial Solutions team at Hastings, the company representing Marvin Windows and Doors in New England and eastern New York. Through this team, Middlesex School has access to a full continuum of expertise and service, from a design team on the Marvin manufacturing floor in Warroad, Minn., to Hastings’ architectural reps and the experienced team from J.B. Sash and Door, one of Hastings’ highly trained commercial retail dealers. Hastings and J.B. Sash are on site for measurements, consultation and installation training, and troubleshooting.
Windows are Key to ROI
“Window update projects have one of the highest ROIs on any part of our plan,” said Crozier. “Selecting the right windows helps us dramatically reduce maintenance and energy costs. The key is to maintain consistency across campaigns. Since these are done in phases, it is essential to have a partner who will be with us over time; someone who we can trust. The Marvin Commercial Solutions team at Hastings has been that team, working alongside our architects and building contractors.”
“Historical restoration is in the Marvin DNA,” said Steve Hoyt, who heads the Marvin Commercial Solutions team at Hastings. “We are dedicated to providing meticulous restoration for legacy buildings and forward-thinking solutions for new buildings, keeping detailed plans for future reference so that consistency is maintained.”
State-of-the-Art in Every Way
Marvin’s full array of solutions was employed by Middlesex School on the design of their Rachel Carson Music and Campus Center. This stunning space, designed by CBT Architects, houses music practice rooms, academic classrooms, a recital hall and the Winter Garden, which has become the crossroads gathering space on campus. One of the primary goals was to illuminate the building both during the day and night to communicate the vibrancy of the space to passersby. The windows are sized for natural light to stream inside during the day, and to allow the interior illumination to pour outside at night.
With its unique customization capabilities, Marvin was able to incorporate special electrochromic glass into the window designs in this new campus center. The high-tech glass is programmed to react to the light and natural elements on the building’s exterior, allowing the windows to tint to reduce solar glare during the day and automatically remove the tint and welcome in natural light more fully as the sun sets or during inclement weather. These smart glass windows help Middlesex School maintain both the perfect light level in the building and an ideal temperature through reduction of solar heat gain. This was a first for the customization team at Marvin, and the results were exactly what the school imagined.
Click here for more information on the Marvin Commercial Solutions team, and for details on Middlesex School and the most recent buildings on campus, click here.
Kelly McCoy is co-owner of The McCoy Group.