From the 2022 Architectural Portfolio: CREC Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Magnet School

Since 1966, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) has developed programs and services to meet the educational needs of children and adults in Greater Hartford, Conn. The CREC Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Magnet School in Bloomfield is a new building that serves 876 students in pre-K through grade 8. The 30-acre site provides open space for playscapes, play fields, walking trails and an area of protected wetlands. This high-performance building meets LEED Silver equivalent criteria; this was achieved by employing strategies such as in-floor radiant heat, solar photovoltaics, and chilled beam cooling. The HVAC system and solar arrays reduce energy usage. Designed to celebrate the arts through light and spatial experience, the facility invites students to participate in dance, music, theater, sculpture, and painting. Reflecting these ideas through architecture, sculptural mullions on the façade represent dancers casting shadows that move with the angle of the sun. 

Read more about CREC Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Magnet School and view a photo gallery at SchoolDesigns.com.