Little fanfare, but great hopes, as Sandy Hook school construction begins

Architect Barry Svigals poses for a photograph in front of some of the early sketches for the new Sandy Hook elementary school Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 at the architectural firm Svigals and Partners in New Haven, Conn. less Architect Barry Svigals poses for a photograph in front of some of the early sketches for the new Sandy Hook elementary school Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 at the architectural firm Svigals and Partners in New Haven, ... more Photo: Autumn Driscoll Buy photo Photo: Autumn Driscoll Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Little fanfare, but great hopes, as Sandy Hook school construction begins 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

NEWTOWN -- Construction of the Sandy Hook replacement school is set to begin in March, and the subdued mood in town borders on solemnity.

But the absence of fanfare for the new school, in deference to the 26 families who lost loved ones in the 2012 shootings, does not mean the stakes aren't high.

In fact, the collective expectation is that when doors open to start the 2016 school year, the new Sandy Hook Elementary will be much more than a mere building.

"You better believe it," said Robert Mitchell, the chairman of a 58-member committee overseeing the $50 million state-funded project. "There's a rebirth going on out there."

Newtown's hope the replacement school will be a turning point in the journey from grief to recovery is based in part on the personal stake many feel in seeing Sandy Hook return to the center of community life. And it is based in part on the universal need of grieving communities to mark progress with milestones.

"When I talk with folks that have been in other places where horrible tragedies have occurred, they have identified benchmark events such as the creation of a new building as important developments marking the next phase of their journey," said Pat Llodra, Newtown's first selectwoman.

"We don't ever want to say as we move away from the events of 2012 that we have forgotten, because it will always be part of who we are," she said. "But we also have to recognize our obligation to the future."

No one is suggesting the new 87,000-square-foot building alone can take away the trauma associated with the second-deadliest school shooting in American history.

But leaders are saying the right kind of building can stimulate healing by tapping into the connectedness that already exists in nature.

With that philosophy in mind, town leaders decided two things had to happen after residents voted to raze the school building that gunman Adam Lanza shot his way into with an assault rifle.

First, it was important to get as many people as possible involved in the conversation about the building's design.

Second, it was important to leverage all of the architecture's potential to stimulate good moods, to encourage new connections and to establish a secure environment without creating a prison.

"That is the difference between a school building that is a brick box and a school building that resonates with a purpose and with a meaning that is embedded in the community and in its beliefs," said Barry Svigals, the New Haven-based sculptor and project architect.

Svigals and the 58-member advisory committee designed the new school to take advantage of the natural landscape of the site on Dickinson Drive.

"Nature was the heart of our inspiration because nature has a deeply healing effect on people," Svigals said. "So this is much more than just a building that provides for basic functional needs. This reaches into our aesthetic and spiritual needs."

The construction phase of the project comes four months after contractors broke ground in October and one year after the old school was razed on the same Dickinson Road property, leaving an undisturbed green space that will remain in the shadows of the new school.

Whatever the town's memorial committee decides about establishing a place of remembrance for the victims of Dec. 14, the decision will not involve the hallowed ground of the old school site.

In downtown Sandy Hook, which has not been the same since the school was torn down and students were moved to a school in Monroe, merchants are looking forward to the reconstruction.

"I'm happy the school is getting rebuilt and I'm looking forward to seeing people coming back," said Marci Benitez, owner of Family Fun Cuts and Family Kids Consignment on Church Hill Road. "We have to look on the bright side and try to make this as positive as possible."

More than a building

There is little danger of raising expectations too high about what one new school building can accomplish, leaders said, because no one in the community mistakes the new elementary school for just another new school building.

"For the families who were hurt the most, this building will always be symbolic," said schools Superintendent Joseph Erardi.

"It will be a state-of-the-art teaching and learning complex, but we will always hold on to the extraordinary loss that the building represents," he said. "For that reason alone, it is more than just a building."

The building is also unusual from an architectural standpoint. The gentle arc of the front façade is designed to feel like opened arms. Three classroom wings extend like fingers into the wooded landscape of the campus, replicating an open hand. Overlooking a central courtyard are two second-floor breakout spaces designed to feel like treehouses.

Mitchell, the chairman of the construction oversight committee, said he knew architects had the right idea when he overheard two people talking about the blueprints during a public hearing.

"One of them said, `That doesn't look much like a school,' and I turned around and said to her, `Thank you very much,' " Mitchell said.

Town leaders were so determined to incorporate nature into the school design that they hired an ecological scholar from Yale University, Stephen Kellert, as a consultant.

"From the ashes of tragedy they had a desire to affirm life and create a positive place for children to grow," said Kellert, the professor emeritus of social ecology at Yale. "There is a lot of data to support that nature can do that."

Svigals agreed. "This site is going to be so completely transformed that even people who are familiar with it will find it difficult to recognize where they are."

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342