The north wall of West’s auxiliary gym as it looked on Nov. 12.
Under an overcast sky on a November afternoon, the concrete tilt-up walls of West Albany High School’s new auxiliary gym look perhaps even grayer than they might on a sunny day. I wondered if the building will be painted when the construction is finished, or if that’s the way it’s going to look from here on out.
The gym building faces Liberty Street on the west side of the school and, on the north side, the parking lot you see in the photo above.
The original design below, looking at it from the west, made the walls look kind of elegant and attractive:
There’s been a change, though, as I learned in an email from James Franks, senior project manager for HMK Company, the school district’s representative for the districtwide school construction and renovation effort.
Franks supplied the original rendering for the new gym shown above, and he added: “The brick façade has been replaced with form liner, yet the smooth surface above has not changed. It will be sealed and sand-blasted concrete and will not receive any additional color.”
“Form liner” means the ribbed pattern you see in the concrete, applied as the name suggests via a liner in the forms when the panels were cast.
So it sounds as if gray is the color it’s going to stay. No word on whether the school’s name is still going to be emblazoned on the west wall as the rendering shows.
For an update on all the Albany school construction projects, including the $55 million expansion and remodeling of West, you can wade through the school board agenda packet for Oct. 28 here. The status report on all the projects, as of the end of September, starts on page 57. (hh)
On what did the architects spend the “one-percent-for-arts” dollars normally dedicated in these public building efforts. A statue of some sort seems apropos.
On the unlikely chance that this was meant seriously, let’s point out that the art requirement applies only to city buildings, which the GAPS projects obviously are not.
Forgive me.
I thought taxpayer dollars paid for ALL this stuff – be it City, GAPS, CARA or whichever acronym you prefer.
Certainly there must be one or more talented art students capable of designing and executing a mural-sized Bulldog on the leading concrete facia.
Imagine the student pride and inspiration generated, using a pittance of GAPS monies to fund the student-led 1% For Arts effort to decorate the new building’s exterior.
An art-oriented project involving the student body and GAPS staff is certainly worth as much as all the monies pumped into football. Wake up, Albany…or we’re all through.
J J
I was considering why I found your continuing comments so familiar……….. then I realized that you sound JUST LIKE Nico…. John, if you would just return to complaining about your neighbors and Walmart…. Probably time for a new false name John..
And he keeps linking his nifty video of Konopa and George Wallace to his comments.
Evidently he isn’t aware that his photo and name – John Hartman – are also visible.
But he isn’t the only one posting on this blog under a fake name. It’s hard to take any of them seriously given their cowardly behavior.
Name the Whistleblower. Name the Whistleblower, Name the Whistleblower….
Not much gets by you
I thought the connection between the two was obvious when one accused the other of having “a screw loose” back on 2018-04-24:
https://hh-today.com/on-second-will-radar-slow-drivers-down/#comment-13426
Hopefully, this is all in good humor. Sometimes it’s entertaining, but it’s problematic when one person gets to “vote” multiple times under different names. I couldn’t find the best example I remembered, but the following has anti-preservation arguments from the same commenter under at least 3 different names:
https://hh-today.com/delay-demolition-90-days-city-staff-asks/
At minimum, a Brobdingnagian Bulldog mural to adorn the vast concrete parapet in order to alert those passing nearby. Modern LED lighting tech could be incorporated as well, at far less than the 1% for Art requirement.
The taxpayers of Albany are writing some big checks today. It represents a lot of work, effort, and sacrifice for our families to generate these levels of treasure. I think looking back over last year, we have accomplished many good things at the county, city and school level. The downtown will soon look beautiful for the holidays. I also commend those elected commissioners, councillors, and school board members that realize the sacrifice that’s being made and work extra hard to maximize their fellow citizen’s tax dollars.
This sounds a lot like Bill Barr’s “audition” memo absolving Trump. Shortly after that memo made its way to the White House, Barr was made AG. Is there an equivalent at the local Albany level?
I don’t understand how the sacrifice by this community somehow translates to an appointed/confirmed position in the executive branch of the national government. This is real sacrifice coming from the citizens of this community; the money represents, work, effort, giving up things for their family. I embolden those elected officials that are pro-Albany citizen to be outspoken when they see something they’re not comfortable with, that’s all.
P.O.V. for sure… Is the cup half full or half empty? I’ll posit Steve is saying it’s half full — and I totally concur!
I think the old gym faced Liberty. Where is it in relation to the old gym? Further towards Liberty School?
It’s next to the old gym, closer to the street.
I’ll trust that the people who get paid to do this for a living have it under control. Can’t wait to see it all finished.
Did anyone else notice that the “chemtrails” are even drawn into the artist’s rendition? Just checking! Learn about #WeatherGeoEngineering here: https://www.globalresearch.ca/does-the-us-military-own-the-weather-weaponizing-the-weather-as-an-instrument-of-modern-warfare/5608728