Cubellis Gets Unanimous "Green" Light for Historic Landmark Project by City Historic Preservation Board

Northside Elementary School to Preserve Historic Landmark Designation with New
Sustainable Design
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(Business Wire)--
Cubellis, an international architectural, interior design and engineering firm
with offices in Fort Lauderdale, is moving forward with the School Board of
Broward County as the Professional Architectural Consultants for the completion
of the Northside Elementary School`s master plan.

Built in 1927, Northside Elementary School is the only original elementary
school built in the city of Fort Lauderdale that remains in operation, and as
such is designated as a Historic Landmark. Cubellis worked closely in
preliminary planning with the School Board of Broward County and the City of
Fort Lauderdale Planning & Zoning and Historic Preservation Boards to protect
the integrity and beauty of the original campus, while incorporating a
two-story, six-classroom addition directly onto the historic building. The $13.6
million L-shape addition will enable a new secondary courtyard to be created,
continuing the open exterior corridor system of the older building and
re-creating the Spanish revival style typical of the 1920`s architecture in
southern Florida.

On Monday, May 4, 2009, The Historic Preservation Board unanimously voted to
"green light" the project. "I have completed presentations for the school`s
parent association, neighborhood civic association, the city of Fort Lauderdale
Parks and Recreation Board, and city of Fort Lauderdale`s Education Advisory
Board, and all of the presentations have been met with great enthusiasm and
support due to the fact that the school district has chosen the path of
preservation," said Jorge Gutierrez, Principal and Project Manager in the Fort
Lauderdale Office at Cubellis. "Simply, the design adds classrooms that will
meet current state educational specifications, leaving the existing historic
building classrooms that were built in 1927 to be used for smaller, part-time
functions such as resource rooms, and skills labs."

"Cubellis` design is sensitive to the history of the building," said Merrilyn
Rathbun, Research Director with the Fort Lauderdale History Center and advises
the City Historic Preservation Board. "Mr. Gutierrez and the rest of the team
understand the need to restore and re-work this historic property for the
benefit of the community it serves, while remaining compliant with the Boards
that govern the process."

A New Sustainable Design for a Historic Landmark

Cubellis` new design, sensitive to the history of the building and the space
limitations of the tight, urban site, includes the expansion of Building #8 by
13,154 gross sq. ft. to include, six intermediate classrooms, a skills
development lab, administrative spaces, a resource room, custodial spaces, and
student and staff restrooms. The plans specify the use of low VOC emitting
paints, sealants and carpet systems, and ceiling and flooring systems with high
recycled material contents. The building envelope is being designed to minimize
solar heat gain with windows that will be double glazed, insulated, and
depending on orientation and use, will have low emissivity coating.
Additionally, the design is intended to take advantage of south Florida`s
abundant solar energy to heat water for lavatory use and incorporate daylight in
classrooms as a strategy to reduce energy consumption.

The planned demolition of Building #3, at 7,940 gross sq. ft., will make room
for the construction of a new classroom building of approximately 6,400 gross
sq. ft. to include four primary classrooms, storage, student restrooms, and
custodial spaces. This phase of the work also includes a remodeled courtyard
that will create enough space to enable the facility to harvest rain water for
use as lavatory gray water, air conditioning equipment coolant, and for
landscape irrigation. System upgrades for the property include HVAC and fire
alarm systems upgrades, and the remodeling of Building #1, at 20,000 gross sq.
ft., to include the single point of entry.

A Relationship Built on Success

The Northside Elementary School award follows other successful Cubellis projects
for the School Board of Broward County, including the recently awarded Colbert
Elementary School and Fort Lauderdale High School projects, AC Perry Elementary
School, Harbordale Elementary School, Deerfield Beach High School, and Pompano
Beach Middle School.

"The new design for the Northside Elementary School is a testament to the talent
and dedication of our teams at Cubellis," said Gutierrez. "We continue to focus
on providing the exceptional service and attention to detail that has
contributed to the success of our projects with the Broward County Public
Schools and the rest of our clients. We are extremely pleased to have been
selected once again as the team of choice for the completion of this magnificent
and challenging landmark project."

About Broward County Public Schools

Broward County Public Schools is the nation's sixth largest public school system
and the largest fully accredited district with nearly 260,000 students in more
than 280 schools and education centers. For more information about Broward
County Public Schools, visit the District Web site at www.browardschools.com.

About Cubellis

Cubellis is an integrated, multidisciplinary design firm offering architectural,
interior design, and engineering services to a diverse base of national and
international clients. The firm's practice area expertise includes retail &
mixed-use, workplace solutions, residential, academic, hospitality, and
government/municipal. Cubellis is a team of over 300 professionals, with offices
in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Boston, MA; Rocky Hill, CT; Englewood Cliffs; NJ
Philadelphia and Wayne, PA; Tysons Corner, VA; Chicago, IL; Orange County, CA;
Baltimore, MD; Dallas, TX; New York, NY; and Dubai, UAE. For more information,
please visit: www.cubellis.com.

Cubellis
Meghan Welborn, 617-603-2146 x0
Public Relations Manager
mwelborn@cubellis.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009