BL Companies receives Publisher's Commendation Award for school design

BL Companies, Inc. of Meriden has received a Publisher's Commendation Award for outstanding educational facility design in the 20th Anniversary fall 2011 edition of Learning By Design, the premier biannual guide that showcases innovative school and university design and construction projects. BL Companies, Inc. received one of only two Publisher's Commendation Awards in the fall 2011 design competition. Learning By Design judges recognized BL Companies, Inc. for emphasizing the environmental curriculum of the Mary M. Hooker Environmental Sciences Magnet School (Hartford) throughout the entire building. From the learning center's spacious lobby outfitted with a 3,500-gallon eco-pond, plants, trees, and a waterfall to a butterfly vivarium and a planetarium, every inch of the building promotes environmental awareness. Judges said this rich, museum-like atmosphere increased pre-K through eighth-grade student engagement. "This building embraced the environmental curriculum and provided several spaces that reinforced that program and made it quite exciting for the children to experience every day," the judges said.