Lessons in Middle School Remodeling

In 1989, the Quincy public school system made the “honor roll”. That’s when the broad, horseshoe-shaped brick home of South-West Junior High joined the National Register of Historic Places.  The classical revival trio of two-story pavilions at 444 Granite Street, designed by Shephard & Stearns architects in 1927, has since been a source of preservation pride for this southeastern Boston suburb.

Today, the venerated building has a new name and a new look. And Metro Sign & Awning was able to contribute to the Reay E. Sterling Middle School’s modern revival.

Metro Sign & Awning gets an A+ for bringing in the job. Their attention and participation in the bidding process was crucial and they worked to value engineer the signs by weighing their function against cost. Metro was able to improve function by offering colorful acrylic and resin materials, steel hardware and select lighting without increasing cost. Because of the scope of the project, it was a challenge breaking down the technical details of these acrylic panels, but Metro did it.

David Capaldo, Senior Executive at BOND Brothers, was impressed with the innovative and affordable signage package which led to the award of this project.

Smartest Sign in the Room

The Metro Sign & Awning team found a friend in 3Form, an international supplier of translucent resin materials, architectural hardware and lighting for interior and exterior projects. Just by utilizing this company’s back-sprayed acrylic for panels, they were able to provide cost-saving wall replacement in the school’s auditorium.  

Another application involved suspending vertical blue squares along a curved hallway in place of boring bulletin boards and trophy showcases. A real showstopper was the school’s mascot eagle enlarged in black acrylic with wings spread and talons splayed, mounted over a main entranceway.  

Signs in the cafeteria and other areas of the school were designed with the feel of a  modern airport. Outdoor signs are more upbeat and universal instead of institutional.

Old School Teamwork

The development and execution of the project was a collaboration between Sales, Design, Estimating, Production, Project Management and Installation. There was also a partnership forged with the City of Quincy, PCA360 and Ai3 Architects. We’re proud to have led BOND’s team from pre-construction through successful completion on this amazing project!

The client and Ai3 Architect, the architect for the project are extremely pleased with the result of this project. They’ll be ordering dedication plaques from us in time for opening day.

Historical buildings like South West Middle School are the perfect backdrop for modern intelligent signage. Architects know the value of partnering with an experienced New England sign company to produce value-engineered programs. To learn more about 3Form and other 21st-century creative materials, contact us. School’s out but we’re here all summer.