Sunlight poured into hallways and stairwells and what will become rooms—cafeteria, library, computer lab, music and art rooms and classrooms—in the new Goodyear School Wednesday as construction continues there.
Inside, tools whined as workers continue to shape the space.
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Just inside the entrance, off Central Street, opposite the office area on the left is the combined gym and auditorium.
Farther down the main hallway, past the elevator shaft, is the kindergarten area. Those rooms connect to an outside play area behind the building. The playground surface will be artificial turf, like the high school, Quinn said.
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A little farther down the main hallway, on the right, is the cafeteria.
Many interior walls on this level are framed, but not drywalled yet. Coils of wire hang from the ceiling. Drywalling will start on the ground floor in March, according to a monthly report on the project by Municipal Building Consultants, Inc., the owner’s project manager, or city’s agent, for the project.
Up one floor, on the south end of the building, will be the library, on the east side of the building and, across the hall, the computer lab.
At the other end of the building is a mezzanine, or balcony, over the front entry.
More classrooms line the central hallways on both the second and third floors.
Drywall is hung and even taped in some classrooms. In one room, a coat of scarlet paint was being applied to one wall, as an accent.
The classrooms are good size, Quinn said. “Everything is well though out, well –planned.”
If he were a teacher at the new Goodyear, Quinn said he would want a classroom on the second or third floor, facing west, with a view of the pond.
Over the third-floor hallway, windows near the roof in two spots bring in natural light.
Natural light is an important element in the school design, Quinn said. In what he described as a unique design, light comes into the stairwells from windows above the third floor.
Thermometers hung on some interior door frames. The school construction management company, Gilbane Building Co., hung them because different products have different drying specifications, Quinn explained.
Outside, Quinn gave a thumbs-up to the brick design and installation. The modern-style building blends well with the neighborhood, he said. Terracotta-color metal panels will sheath the area around the entrance.
With all this winter’s snow, there is “not one iota of concern” about the roof, Quinn said. For the same reason—snow—no roof units have been put in place yet, he said. They will be screened, he noted.
Parking will be located in front of the school.
As for the people working on the project, Gilbane “has answers to questions before you even ask the questions,” Quinn said. “They know exactly what they’re doing.”
Quinn tipped his hardhat to David Dunkley, director of facilities for city schools, school Supt. Mark Donovan and Mayor Scott Galvin for their work on the project.
A number of the tradespeople on the project are from Woburn, Quinn pointed out, including the steel erection superintendent. In them, he said, “You have home-grown pride.”
A “great team effort from all,” he summarized.
The project is scheduled for final completion this coming Aug. 15.
Interested in taking a video tour of the school? Click here!
