Town of Darien: Darien High School Building Committee

The plans for the new high school facility in Darien are governed by the Educational Specifications adopted by the Board of Education. The Ed Specs are the origin of this design.

Renovate / New: The high school will be all-new construction. Various renovation options were explored but were not cost-effective. The Building Committee voted unanimously for an all-new facility. Building the new school on essentially the same spot as the current school was also considered. However, the construction manager, AP/O&G, deemed this scheme a "planning impossibility" due to the fact that none of the existing school can be saved.

Size: The new high school will be approximately 316,926 square feet versus the current 204,000. Despite the fact that the new building is larger, its footprint will only be 92% of the size of the existing school. The auditorium will have seating for 1,200 people. The core facilities are designed for 1,500 students; classrooms will accommodate 1,300. The current enrollment projection is for 1,250 high school students in the fall of 2005. The design allows for future construction of additional classroom space for 200 more students.

Location: The design calls for the new school to be located in the middle of the property. This location takes advantage of the natural fall-off of the land from west to east, while minimizing the impact on the neighborhood. Building the new facility in the middle does not encroach on the
wetlands. The new school will have less impervious surface (roofs and asphalt) than the current high school
even though 100 parking spaces have been added to the site. The central location also provides shorter walk-times to playing fields and /or parking.

Design: The school will be traditional in design, featuring brick and gabled roofs. At its center will be a quadrangle, which will allow for natural light in all the classrooms. Student walk-times between classes/activities will be less in the new school versus the current one. The new high school is predominantly comprised of three story, two-story and double height spaces. The only single-story structure is the cafeteria. The building code will ensure that the structure will be built to last 50 years. The building that is now Town Hall was originally erected as the High School when Calvin Coolidge was president; with proper care the longevity of this new facility could be extended indefinitely.

Site: All of the playing fields have been retained. In fact, two have been expanded: the varsity baseball and field hockey. The walk-times to the fields will be less than they are currently. The simple one-way traffic loop at the front of the site ensures pedestrian safety. Entrances to this loop will be announced by speed humps, with an additional four speed humps around the loop itself. The drop-off area will accommodate 22 cars. The loop is very similar to the traffic pattern now successfully employed at Middlesex Middle School.

Cost: The estimated cost is 73 million dollars, 60 million to the town of Darien after state aid. The building committee is committed to providing Darien with a school that is economically responsible. The new school will be less expensive to operate than the current school. Further condensing the design would not yield significant savings in construction or operating costs.

Schedule: The building committee continues to work toward RTM approval in September. The architects need 8 months to complete the final design/construction documents and blueprints. The project will go out to bid for 2 months. Once it is awarded it will take 30 months to build. The old school will be demolished during the summer and the new Darien High School will open in September 2005.

E-mail: DHSBC@darien.k12.ct.us | DHSBC Home