PROJECT PROFILE
Harry and Wanda Zekelman Campus
Oak Park, Mich.
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Type: School and Dormitory
Size: 25,000 square feet, 20,000 square feet
Architect: Neumann/Smith
Completed: August 2012
PROJECT SUMMARY
Immersed in the teachings of the Orthodox Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch movement, the
foundation of the Harry and Wanda Zekelman boarding school is steeped in cultural
values. The design of the buildings themselves is fresh and modern, an update on the
conventional boarding school look that still accommodates centuries-old traditions.
The 4-acre campus, which houses up to 180 middle- and high-school boys, includes a
25,000-square-foot school building and a 20,000-square-foot, two-story dormitory.
To meet the requirements of the Orthodox Jewish culture, the school and the dorm
segregate the students by age. In the dorm, a separate entrance takes the younger boys
to their second-floor living area, while the older students reside on the first floor. In the
school, this meant designing two mirror-image wings along a long axis, both containing a
study hall, four classrooms, and a cafeteria. Each lunchroom has kosher kitchens to
separate meat and dairy.
Varying masonry textures and glass visually segment the long school building into
sections. Most prominent is the west end, where the dual study halls rise an extra half
story into transoms that flood the interior space with daylight. On the outside, dark
gray CalStar bricks are arranged in a Flemish bond pattern, in which utility bricks are
stacked lengthwise and interrupted by a brick placed sideways and corbeled out 2
inches, resulting in an eye-catching, texturized appearance.
On the opposite end of the school building,
CalStar bricks once again define spaces.
Surrounding the square windows of the
classrooms are repeating horizontal stripes
consisting of five rows of tangerine bricks and
one row of gray; abutting that is the
lunchroom, where the pattern is reversed
with wider swaths of gray bricks and single
rows of tangerine.
Planning ahead, the classroom area of the
building can accommodate a future second
story; the glass tower in the center, also the
location of the public entrance, will eventually
provide a central staircase.
The masonry theme carries over to the dormitory in the rear of the property, where
gray CalStar brick laid in Flemish bond distinguishes the area of the building holding the
mikvah, a ritual bathing pool.
Brick construction was a vital element of the architect’s vision, and the selection of
CalStar Products, at up to 20% lower cost, helped ensure that vision could be realized.
“We knew we wanted a masonry building, but [the budget] couldn’t accommodate a
masonry building,” says project architect Mike Baer of Neumann/Smith. “CalStar bricks
fit into the budget very well relative to clay brick. They provided a look that has every
bit of character as traditional masonry.”
To arrange an interview on the Zekelman Campus
project and/or CalStar Products, contact:
Katy Tomasulo | 425.277.9956, [email protected]