Rendering courtesy of GFF
Outdoor classroom for White Rock Montessori School, Dallas, Texas; Architect: GFF
Established by the Jesuits in 1847, Xavier High School occupies a series of buildings in lower Manhattan, New York just west of Union Square. “We have a labyrinth of a plant, with physical and often mechanical connections between structures that were built in the late 1800s to the most recent that was built in 1965,” says Jack Raslowsky, president of Xavier High School. “There’s even steam, electrical, and plumbing running between our cafeteria in the former lower church of St. Francis Xavier and that church proper, which is a separate entity from us.”
To put it mildly, Xavier High School was never designed to deal with the design and operational demands of COVID-19. The people who built the campus and interconnected the buildings never did so with social distancing and relentless disinfections in mind. But this is the dual challenge that Xavier High School and church-run schools across America are tackling right now.
Their efforts are being aided by firms such as GFF Architects of Dallas. Stephen Pickard, one of GFF’s principals and the company’s faith-based market sector leader in its Church Works Studio, reports, “We are helping churches, church-run schools, and non-profit enterprises like Meals on Wheels cope with the unique design and operational issues caused by the pandemic.”
Dividers everywhere
Adjusting a labyrinth-like Xavier High School to cope with COVID-19 has required a number of design changes, most of which have relied on altering the interior spaces and usages of the school’s buildings.
“We’ve done very little structural work,” says Raslowsky. “Air circulation is an issue, but the good news is we have lots of windows. So we can get some pretty good outside ventilation in every space, which is now causing us to be a little chilly.”
Clear Lexan plastic dividers are now everywhere in Xavier High School, enforcing social distancing in large common spaces, the cafeteria, the gym, and any other areas where students would normally be close to one another. Meanwhile, the seating capacity within these areas has been drastically reduced.
“The cafeteria used to house 450 students at lunch, but now it is down to less than 100 due to the dividers,” Raslowsky says. “We’ve also put 500 desks into storage, in order to cut out classroom capacity in half, and set up portable sinks and hand sanitizer stations throughout our complex.”
These are just some of the design changes that GFF Architects is suggesting to schools and seeing put in place. Others include “touchless door hardware, faucets, and toilets in school washrooms,” says Jacquelyn Block, GFF Church Works studio director and associate principal. “We are seeing new signage being deployed in school, designating travel patterns to reduce congestion and one-way traffic, and new dedicated sick rooms for students that potentially have COVID-19 to be held until caregivers arrive to pick them up, in addition to the ‘nurse’s office.’"
Coram Deo Academy, Flower Mound, Texas; Architect: GFF
As well, church-run schools are upgrading their mechanical system changes by adding air filters, ionizers, and air purifiers. They are also cleaning these systems regularly and more often.
“Some schools are removing water fountains and replacing with water bottle fillers,” Block says. “Others are wanting new outdoor covered classroom spaces, such as pavilions that can be used for PE, classes, and lunches to help kids to physically distance.”
Rotating student bodies and endless cleaning
When a school like Xavier High School removes half of its students' desks and cuts the cafeteria’s capacity by nearly 80%, operations have to change. And change they have.
“We are now on two-day classroom rotations, which means our 900 students have been split into two groups,” says Raslowsky. “We also have a group of students off-campus who are permanent distance learners, or at least until everyone decides to come back after a vaccine becomes available.”
Students are regularly screened for COVID-19 symptoms. They are screened while at home using an app, and later at school where their temperatures are checked.
Enhanced cleaning/disinfection is another big change at Xavier High School. “We have a set of electrostatic cleaners for our high use areas,” says Raslowsky. “We electrostatically clean the cafeteria and gym between the lunch periods, the lobby several times a day, and the entire campus at the end of the day.”
GFF Architects is seeing operational changes like these occurring at its clients’ schools, and many other changes as well. For instance, teachers are being equipped with webcams and wireless microphones for virtual learning, supported by more capable help desks to aid them and their web-connected students.
Restrooms are being monitored to enforce social distancing, and the days of shared school supplies are over, at least for the duration of the pandemic. “Arrival and drop-off times are staggered and there are multiple locations for drop-off/pickup to reduce congestion,” says Block. “There’s no self-service food. Some schools are serving individually plated meals or students are required to bring their own food – and eat it either in their classroom or outside instead of in the dining hall.”
Changes appear temporary
The onslaught of COVID-19 has made clear just how vulnerable schools and other mass gathering points are to virus transmission. Despite this fact, the people interviewed for this story do not expect the design and operational changes detailed above to become permanent.
“Improvements in ventilation and other systems certainly make sense for enhanced health and safety,” says Raslowsky. “At the same time, in-person learning experiences such as our teacher-student off-campus retreats are a very big part of what we offer at Xavier High School. So I expect for these to resume once it becomes safe to offer them again.”
“I think we all hope that the COVID-19 environment is a temporary condition,” says Pickard. “There are certainly lessons to be learned, some of which will become a new standard in future church and school design."
