Centerbrook Wins Award for Berkshire

CENTERBROOK, Conn. – Centerbrook has received the top award for Environmental Architecture in education from the 2013 Starnet Design Awards for its use of flooring at Bellas/Dixon Math and Science Center at the Berkshire School in Massachusetts.

“We used linoleum made from natural materials for all of the laboratory floors.” said Ted Tolis, AIA and LEED AP, who was Job Captain for the project. “Linoleum is among the greenest products available for lab floors. It’s naturally antibacterial and biodegradable. It now comes with a durable coating that makes it highly suited to laboratory use. The corridors on the first floor were all stone-like porcelain tile and we installed sustainable carpet in the classrooms and offices. These are all both durable and handsome.”

Sharing the award with Centerbrook were: M. Frank Higgins & Co. of Newtown, Connecticut, the flooring contractor; Fontaine Brothers of Springfield, Massachusetts, the general contractor; and the flooring manufacturers, Armstrong Commercial Flooring, Atlas Carpet Mills, and Daltile, Mats, Inc. Starnet is an international organization for the commercial flooring industry.

Opened for the 2012 academic year and certified LEED Gold, the 48,000-square-foot Center features six math classrooms, eight science classroom labs, a 100-seat teaching auditorium, department offices, and two advanced math/science labs equipped with state-of-the-art research tools. It increases the space devoted to math and science at Berkshire by 129 percent.

Centerbrook Partner Mark Simon, FAIA, led the Centerbrook design team; Mark Herter, AIA and LEED AP, was the Project Manager.