BWF dining porch earns design award

Each year, the Birmingham Chapter of the American Institute of Architects presents Design Awards for the best-designed projects by local architects. This month, Brookwood Forest Elementary’s new screened-in dining porch received a Merit Award. The project was funded by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization and designed by Simonton Swaika Black Architects. The school system’s facilities department served as the general contractor and did much of the work with their own employees.

The porch seats up to 50 children and has a 15-foot ceiling. It is connected to the existing cafeteria by three new garage doors that are opened during fair weather, and an industrial fan makes the space comfortable when conditions are hot and humid. The porch was used every month during this past school year with classes taking turns at every opportunity to eat al fresco.

The primary project goal was to heighten the experience of being outdoors by making the structure as light, airy and transparent as possible. The design challenge was to resolve the conflict between boisterous elementary school students and the fragile nature of a screened-in porch. The solution incorporated a stainless steel cable rail system that almost disappears while still protecting the screen. The cable rail also serves as a comfortable back for the built-in perimeter benches. Locally fabricated rolling tables and movable benches were an economical and durable alternative to institutional, off-the-shelf furnishings.

The Brookwood Forest porch also received a Design Award from AIA Alabama for best-designed projects in Alabama.

– Submitted by Richard Simonton.