Back to School: La Salle Academy Recruits Winco for Second Installation…50 Years Later
In 144 years, every building needs a facelift or two. Historic La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island is no exception. Since 1871, the school has expanded from an elementary school for boys to a co-ed private academy, moved from a building in downtown Providence to a new campus outside the city. The school has graduated several Attorney Generals, Pulitzer Prize winners and U.S. Presidents.
And, inevitably, it has needed some new windows over the years.
In 1921, Bishop William Hickey purchased several acres of land in the Providence countryside. Four years later, a new school building was dedicated, which is La Salle Academy’s present structure. By 1954, the building’s original wooden windows began to show their age. The La Salle Brothers, a Catholic educational order, reached out to Winco Window Company to replace the original hung windows with a more efficient aluminum projected windows system.
Fifty years later, the windows were still holding up but technology offered better thermal, air, and water operational performances. Brother Michael McKenery was pleased with the durability of the Winco windows and reached out to Winco to make a second installation.
Challenge
La Salle Academy wanted to embrace the original 1925 hung window design without compromising on the energy and cost saving benefits offered through modern technology. Aside from working with a tight budget that limited window replacements to only one elevation at a time, the soaring dimensions of the windows were also an obstacle. The 240” x 100” windows have five units per classroom, each with a large 48” x 50” operable vent. The challenge was to honor the original aesthetic while maximizing the functionality of the operable sections.
Solution
Working with True Enterprises, Inc., Winco’s New England representative, Winco arrived at the solution to replace the 1954 aluminum windows with Winco’s 1450 Series fixed-over-projected hung replica windows.
The finished product references the original hung window design. The upper fixed glass is in a different plane than the bottom sash. However, the new system has a bottom project out vent and uses a custom stainless steel 4-bar arm for support. “Projected windows are easier to open outward than hung windows which must be pushed up. Modern windows tend to be heavier because of double paned glass and other features,” says Bill True, owner of True Enterprises.
“With the La Salle project, we could deliver exactly what the Brothers had in mind because we fully understood their specific vision and needs,” says Kurtis Suellentrop, technical sales manager at Winco Window.
Since 2004, Winco has worked alongside True Enterprises to replace every single window — elevation by elevation — at La Salle Academy. The new installation has offered the school a significant reduction in utility costs and a more comfortable learning environment for students and staff.