PBS 140 Child Care Center Design Guide - The Whole Building ...

CHAPTER 2: MISSION, GOALS, ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY
� Creating an accessible center for the disabled, staff, parents and children
in a cost effective manner.
� Providing a healthful indoor and outdoor environment.
2.2 Process
GSA has learned through its design and construction experience that owner
involvement at the beginning of the design process, starting at the initial
planning stages, is the most valuable investment to ensure the excellence
and cost effectiveness of the final result. (Note that the beginning of the
process starts with planning and pre-design stages and continues through
the design concept. The early stages of design, leading up to the concept,
form the foundation of an excellent and functional design.)
The design process for new child care centers or major center renovation/
expansions must begin with a high level of communication, particularly
because a well designed center requires an array of functional and aesthetic
requirements in a relatively small space and must satisfy a wide
range of “customers.”
To accommodate this, GSA will convene a “design workshop,” to which all
interested stakeholders should be invited, including, but not limited to, property
managers, the RCCC, the architectural and facilities representative
from the Office of Child Care, the appropriate GSA regional safety professionals,
as well as representation from the Board of Directors or the startup
committee, the Agency and the A/E. If regional safety and security
professionals cannot attend, their input must be provided. GSA has found
that projects which start with a design workshop move ahead more effectively.
Additional planning up front has been found, time and again, to be
well worth the investment.
This design workshop can also be associated with a partnering session. A
partnering session can be highly effective in clarifying roles and responsibilities.
It typically results in a written charter which the various attendees
are invited to sign in order to commit themselves to taking clearly defined
steps for collaboration on a successful project.
2-2
2.2.1 A/E Qualifications
Where a request for proposals (RFP) is issued for the project a statement
of the key design firm’s and the consultants’ qualifications in sustainable,
high-performance and/or integrative design (as defined in Appendix E)
should be included in the qualification requirements.
2.3 Standards
Child care centers must comply with all Federal regulations governing general
building types as defined in the latest edition of the GSA’s Facilities
Standards for the Public Buildings Service. Center design must comply
with:
� Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) and Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). The design must accommodate children and
adults with disabilities.
� Historic Preservation Act. Modification of historic buildings or buildings
deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places must follow
specific guidelines. The GSA Regional Historic Preservation Officer
should be consulted during the planning stages for consultation on renovating
space in a building.
1. Which is at least fifty years old (or will be when the renovation is completed).
2. Which is deemed to be exemplary of a particular style.
3. Which has historic significance in terms of events to which the building
is related.
� Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG), US EPA, Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response. Through this document, EPA designates
items that must contain recycled content when purchased by federal,
state, and local agencies, or by government contractors using appropriated
federal funds. Under E.O. 13101 EPA is required to update
the CPG every 2 years.
� Executive Order (E.O.) 13101 “Greening the Government Through Waste
Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition,” September 14, 1998.
� Executive Order (E.O.) 13148 “Greening the Government through Leadership
in Environmental Management,” June 1999.
As terms of the license under which child care centers in GSA operate,
after a specified period of time (typically after one year of operation), the
provider must commit to beginning the accreditation process of the National
PBS-140 - July 2003