Located in Berrien Spring, Mich., the Berrien Springs School District’s Virtual Learning Academy takes the success of online learning on the college level and brings the same learning model to the middle school and high school levels. Opened in September 2010, the facility offers area students online and on-site courses. Designed by CARMI Design Group Inc., Edwardsburg, Mich., and overseen by the general contractor, Shelton Construction, Benton Harbor, Mich., the project replicates the high-tech learning environment found within the school’s academic model.
“We wanted the building’s form to portray the modern style of learning that occurs within its walls,” says Tony Leininger, president of CARMI Design Group. To create a building with a high-tech and contemporary feel, the building features three distinct spaces, sharp angles and generous uses of glass framed in recycled aluminum by Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Tubelite Inc.’s 14000 2- by 4.5-inch profiles and T14650 Series Storefronts 2- by 6.5-inch profiles. Installed by glazing contractor, Midwest Glass
& Mirror, Stevensville, Mich., and featuring glass fabricated by PPG Industries, Pittsburgh, the aluminum storefronts are finished in Wasau, Wis.-based Linetec’s Hartford Green fluoropolymer finish, corresponding with the school’s “Home of the Shamrocks” motto.
The $1.8 million, 6,700-square-foot facility continues to impress visitors with an interactive cyber café, classrooms featuring interactive whiteboards, high-resolution projectors, image-capturing equipment and other high-tech components, and a stateof- the-art computer lab. Apart from 60 computers, the computer lab also features three large-format projection screens on different walls to support the concept that the “front” of the room is wherever the instructor is at that moment.
According to Brandon Waggoner, Berrien Springs’ technology director, the building’s stateof- the-art feel helped the students learn more effectively by making them feel as if they had arrived someplace special.
Linetec, www.linetec.com,
PPG Industries, www.ppgideascapes.com,
Tubelite Inc., www.tubelite.com
