WHS Tennis ~ Pioneer Blue

In recognition of our WHS Women's Tennis accomplishments I'll post pics tonight of our new Pioneer Blue Tennis Courts.

The courts are in, the fencing pulled, the lighting posted, landscaping beginning, and we are ready to dominate on blue.
As you see we have ample fencing on all court sides and a sloped bank on the east and south side. This is the view from the south end of the courts. Our lighting can be studied here, there are six posts

This is my favorite angle. I suspect many a match will be watched from this grassy knoll to the east of the courts. The view across the parking lot to the school is excellent from this point too.

We have six courts, they are all blue, since as we know, Blue Rules!

And I say that proudly.

Congratulations to our Watauga Women's Tennis who placed first in our conference and yesterday received the #1 seed in the state tournament. Next season on these courts ladies, you will dominate!

Go Pioneers!

Stone Element Central to Commons

This is the front, main entrance to the school. these columns are covered with a fabricated stone. I think the color choice looks nice with our masonry colors. You will enter the front door between these columns.
Here is a close up view of the colors of stone accent we chose. Even though these are manufactured stone, they are not cheap facade decoration. Each stone must be set and the mortar recessed through out the work. It is very well done and looks quite impressive up close.

If you walk straight through the main entrance and into the commons the same stone elements are echoed there in.

The middle of the commons is the location of these feature windows.
As you can see, the same stone work is used in the columns of these windows. (windows are not installed at this time)

This view is from the third floor looking down at the commons from the catwalk along the east side.

Below outside of these windows is one of the interior courtyards. They are between the classroom winds.

This view is of those windows and the columns structurally supporting them from the courtyard level at the back of the school.

These columns carry the stone element and lead the eye to the center of the school, the commons.

If you sequence the photos walking in through the front door into the commons and out to the courtyard you will have a sense of the unity of the stone element in the design features. Very nice work.

Looking up Light in the Classrooms

On a recent visit I was pleased to see the new and contemporary light fixtures that we will have in the classrooms.

While most rooms will have ample "day lighting" (and some will be quite comfortable with just that) all rooms will have excellent overhead deflected fluorescent lighting.

When you walk into a classroom the daylight is first noticed. Even with the overheads off, there is enough light for mobility.

But it is that mobility that brightens the space! As you enter a room before you can even adjust or reach for a light switch, instantly the lights come on!

And why is that? All because of this motion sensor that detects movement in the classroom! As one of our energy savers, this motion sensor turns lights on or off depending on motion. After a designated setting if there is no motion, it dims the lights. Never again will lights be left on in an empty room!

Here is the light fixture as it looks when fully lit. It is a warm fluorescent and lights by reflected light and ambient light. You will notice the soft distribution and warm indoor light.

I say warm because that is so for indoor lighting. I was surprised to see the difference between the cool light (bluish on the lower left side) from outdoor day lighting in comparison the the warm light (rose on the upper right) of electrical light in this photo.

The lights are hung as linear pendants. They are not embedded in the ceiling like old school fluorescent. Hence they can reflect off the drop ceiling when added to give a more even and less glaring light.

This is a closer view of the fixture against the ceiling tile grid.

If you click on this image to enlarge it you will notice the grid and screen of perforated holes that make the light diffuse.

Most rooms have two or three day lighting windows and at least three rows of lights.

One thing new in these ceilings in addition to the lighting is the presence of sprinklers. We will have a sprinkler system that is school wide in our new school. Something safety we have never had at the old WHS. May we never need them!