Silverhill Mayor Opposes New School's Design

Fairhope, Alabama thefairhopetimes.blogspot.com 

 

Proposed site.

BALDWIN EARLY LEARNING ACADEMY

During a recent Baldwin County Board of Education meeting, Silverhill mayor Jared Lyles objected to the proposed design of the new Early Learning Academy to be built where the old elementary school once stood in downtown Silverhill (15800 4th Avenue.).

Lyles said he supports the new school there, but not its proposed design: "The soul of a town is not only in its people ... but also in its buildings ... one was the old elementary school building ... our community mourns its loss ... but the building chosen in its place betrays our town and who we are as a people ... (it is) modern, flashy, trendy ... cheapens who we are ... asking you not to approve the current design ... but change the facade to honor Silverhill ... and the people who live there."

Superintendent Tyler said the state chooses designs for all school buildings, with controlling costs in mind; but agreed to sit down with Lyles to see if some appropriate changes could be made.

The school's proposed design has not been made available to the public. The former school's gymnasium was the only part saved from demolition, to be used again.

 

Old Silverhill elementary school.




Comments

Anonymous said…
where is this at?
Anonymous said…
It's about time a local politician thought about preserving historical architectural design for new construction. The new office building in downtown Fairhope is hideous and the City of Fairhope should be ashamed.
Anonymous said…
Good for Mayor Lyles. Buildings are important to a community. The BCBE promised that the Fairhope Middle School building would be one of a kind and reflect the community identity, but the identical building was replicated in other communities and doesn’t “fit” any of them.
Anonymous said…
State BOE decides the design ... not local ... like it says ... not hard to understand ...
Anonymous said…
If you are referring to the one on Magnolia, it's different but that's not a bad thing. The world moves forward and we don't all like the same architecture. So much of what we have is run-down and it's nice to see a mix of old and new (imho).
Anonymous said…
Most of the new schools look like prisons to me.
Anonymous said…
If “moving forward” means soulless concrete and glass then you have no sense of place