Photos Courtesy of Brittany Belo’14 and Mark Notaro
Grant Plotkin ’16, Isabella Sanchez ’16: As a tribute to Ham Clark, former Head of School, the area outside the Middle School main entrance is in the process of being transformed into a plaza of stone. Mark Notaro, Director of Facilities and Operations, explained, “We are building a plaza, between the [Class of 44] Chapel and Middle School as a way to honor Mr. Clark and his service to Episcopal.”
Planning for the construction of this dedication began in the spring of the 2012-2013 school year. It will include a circular seating area and is to be surrounded by trees and flowers.
“The Middle School circle is the first thing you see when entering campus and because of its constant use its current state is not the most appealing. The hope is that the new dedication will also make it look more presentable.”
Much thought has gone into the structure’s planning. Both the architect, Jonathan Alderson landscape Architects Inc., and mason, Heritage Stone & Marble, are first time contractors for EA but their piece is meant to look like “its been here from the beginning.” A lot of attention has gone into the small details in order to ensure such an ambitious task. According to Notaro, “The lettering saying Clark Campus Green will look the same as the lettering on the seal above Dr. Locke’s office…We didn’t want something that would be completely different architecturally and we want to make sure everything is complementing each other.” Because it is such a big piece in an area of high traffic “if someone comes here six months from now we want them to be able to say, ‘Wow the campus looks great!’”
However the construction crew did originally meet some complications. The group struggled to receive permits to begin construction. “We applied for them over the summer but the ground needed infiltration testing to see if water flowed through. This particular area failed the test, so we had to rework the calculations,” explained Notaro. As a result, the project staff went head-to-head with the Newtown Square Township until he was able to finally convince the township that it was a safe and reliable project. It is because of these complications that the school was forced to push the beginning of construction back until early October.
Though there was no official groundbreaking ceremony, the EA community can look forward to a grand unveiling of the finished dedication as early as next February. The hope is to time the unveiling with Clark’s return visit to Episcopal from Beirut, Lebanon. “We are hoping to have the masonry work done by New Year’s; however, the plantings will not be in place until the spring.”