TERRE HAUTE —
Majeur Won representatives kicked off a series of town hall meetings Tuesday night at Deming Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Middle School to gather feedback and ideas for canopy entryways that will be constructed at 13 Vigo County School Corp. schools.
The projects will be completed by next spring.
“We really want your ideas,” Matt Won Piker said during a presentation at Deming. He is founder of Paris, France-based Majeur Won, an international design agency started earlier this year. Piker attended and graduated from Vigo County schools.
About 30 people attended at Deming, including staff, students, parents and community members.
Phase I will involve Deming, Wilson, Riley Elementary and West Vigo Middle School.
Piker and Kim Tran, a Majeur Won partner and designer, presented schematic designs, but now want input from the Deming school community for their artistic and design ideas. “These aren’t set in stone,” Tran said.
The canopy entryway will go on the north side of the school where drivers will drop off children. Bus riders are dropped off in front, which already has a canopy.
“We are very grateful” for the project, said Deming principal Susan Mardis. The canopy entryways will help protect children from poor weather conditions, she said.
The district has negotiated a contract with Majeur Won for $78,000 that will go before the School Board on Monday as part of its consent agenda, Superintendent Dan Tanoos has said. School district costs will not exceed $78,000, and the funding will come from the Capital Projects Fund.
Majeur Won is partnering with three firms for the design and construction of the entryway project:
• The architect of record is BSA Lifestructures of Indianapolis.
• The partner involved with general contracting services is Freitag-Weinhardt with FA Wilhelm, based in Terre Haute and Indianapolis.
• The partner for sitework and engineering services is American Structurepoint Inc. based in Indianapolis.
Piker said Majeur Won has agreements with the partners who will provide services that are deeply discounted or at-cost, but those agreements will not involve any added costs to the school district.
The idea is “to give back to the community,” Piker said.
At $78,000 in total costs to the school district for 13 canopy entryways, the project is being done on a “shoestring budget,” said Piker, a 2004 graduate of Terre Haute South Vigo High School.
The goal is to have designs unique to each school and to use recyclable materials where possible.
The Vigo County Education Foundation also is involved and has established an account for the project to facilitate material, in-kind and monetary donations.
The project will involve “controlled construction participation dates” when the school community can get involved as the entryways are close to completion. For example, children could do some artistic or painting activities.
Larry McCullough, whose son is a Deming student, drops his son off each day at school. “I think this is a wonderful idea,” he said.
Tamera Rhodes, an aide at Deming, said the project is “awesome and so needed.” She first heard about the project Tuesday.
Based on estimates the district has received in the past for individual canopy projects, what’s being proposed by Piker sounds like “a darned good deal,” Tanoos said. Some estimates for individual school canopies/entryways have been around $20,000 to $30,000, he said.
At Woodrow Wilson, Piker presented an artistic rendering of a canopy/entryway for the north side of the school near the older gym.
It met with the approval of Makaela Denny, a student at South Vigo High School and a former Wilson student council president. Her brother will attend sixth grade at Wilson this school year.
“Every time we would walk in, if it was raining or snowing, everyone would be running,” Denny said of the walk from the north parking lot to the gymnasium entrance.
Piker made a brief presentation about the canopy project during student orientation night at Wilson. He also met with interested parents and students outside the auditorium to get input on the project.
“This will create a more comfortable entry and exit,” Piker said. “Now there is no cover or shade from the sunlight or the harsh winter.”
Piker will be at Riley Elementary at 6:30 p.m. today and at West Vigo Middle School at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Information about Majeur Won can be found at www.majeurwon.com.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
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