New Areas Shaping Up~

Each floor of each wing has its own breaker room with dedicated breaker boxes. These rooms look quite complex, but nothing compared to the main electrical room shown in this post: electrical infrastructure link
In our old school we couldn't run a projector and computers and fans and even lights at the same time without flipping breakers.

It is exciting to see how well we have planned ahead to "power" our needs in the new school.

These three roll up doors will be in the Auto shop. It is on level 1 in area 1. Designed there to allow drive up for maintenance and equipment.

The classroom sections within the Auto Shop are taking form. They are designed with windows since they are small rooms within the shop. So much about automobiles can be learned and diagnosed by computers these days. But, you already know that!

The CTE area is shaping up with these large garage doors that will allow them to work inside and move out construction projects as necessary.

Drywall Finishing ~ Beginning!

In Area 3 and 2 some of the drywall is finishing is beginning. As you look down this hall (which just a few weeks ago was only roughed in) you can see the nice finished surface on the drywall. The insets are either door entry or locker bays. Notice the sprinkler system is in place (a feature we do not have in our old school :(....
Some of the rooms have finished with drywall work and are beginning to have accent colors added. This is a three window room.

Most rooms have at least two windows and this is the typical window. Note the color on the accent wall to the left.

Here is another room that has color added. Each wing will have different color harmonies. There were three basic color schemes to be used throughout the academic wings.

Though I must admit I do not recall if it was to be colored by level or by wing. Level meaning "floor" (1st, 2nd, 3rd) or by "wing" (area 1,2,3). I'll ask about that and clarify later.

This would be the warm orange color scheme. This view shows the teaching wall on the left and the outside wall on the right. The color on the floor is "dustdown", a material which is used to absorb dust in the finished areas. The actual floor will have an harmonious colored vinyl type floor covering.

What's Between the Wings?

Lots of deep mud on this day! As you can see, it is a soggy bottom in this area. Once Spring begins to dry out, this 90ft wide area between the wings will be a courtyard/green space.
But, clean up and drainage can't be worked on just yet since our rain water capture tanks are beneath the ground out there.

The wing on the left is area 1. Since we are on ground level, this is level 1 area 1. CTE class rooms and shops are mainly on this floor.

It is hard to imagine now, but this area is going to be beautiful. It is the area of the structure facing out toward the green space in the previous photos. The rusted steel finish on these exterior columns will be covered with manufactured stone. This will be repeated on the columns on the inside of the window too. Bringing outside in is an architectural design concept.

The red arrow indicates the columns to be rock. The blue arrow indicates the wall of windows, called "clerestory" (pronounced clear story) that will open up facing west and over looking the green space. The commons area will be day lighted through these huge windows.

R L V??? and Band Room

This area is know as the RLV. What is that?
It also has another name that has changed since most of us adults have used this part of the school. Now known as the "Media Center" formally know as the Library! RLV stands for "Reading, Listening, and Viewing" area, which is what this space has been designed to accommodate.

Some of the breakout rooms, work spaces, and equipment rooms are beginning to be framed in within our Media Center. The shape is a long rectangle and along the columns in the first photo, there will be a wall of glass with open views into the commons area.

Just down the hall from the library is the Band room. Our band room will have high arched ceiling, nearly 24 feet high at the apex. Mr. Walker will enjoy filling this space with the joyful music of his young instrumentalists.

This is the band room from the outside of the building. A few windows on the east side will bring pleasant lighting in the mornings.

This is a curious component in the structural design of this section of the building. It is a wind brace, or torque angle beam. Designed into the structure, these systems insure no twist or lateral torque can happen in our structure. There are several in all areas, hidden for posterity as they become covered by the walls only architects, builders, and readers of this blog will know they are there! ;-)

Hydro Mains Where Does Water Flow?

This room houses the hydro systems, the pumps and valves that control the flow of water throughout our building. These are large pipes and pumps, 10-12 feet tall and occupying the most of the room they are installed in.

I found the forms to be quite sculptural, though I know they exist for function only.

Massive and amazing, I can imagine the force that will drive water from these pumps!

All our water passes through these pipes and valves, from the Town of Boone, to our plumbing, including the geothermal well systems. This is the heart beat that circulates water through out our campus.

Remarkable forms indeed.... Both of these rooms are secure on the maintenance level. It will be a rare opportunity to be able to see this part of our building.

Electrical Infrastructure

This photo is from within the main electrical supply point for the entire school! It looks all neat and contained and ready to flow in this photo below. Actually the grace of line and form in this photo are picture perfect!

However, in the next few photos, you will see what a major job the electrical crew has to complete! This is how you earn the title, "Master Electrician"!

If you have ever tried to figure out electrical pulls this photo will make you pull your hair out!

Imagine that every single light switch, every outlet or plug, each sensor, fan, and all electrical connections in our entire school some how flow to this point.

And then try to imagine sorting them all out and stripping all this wire to eventually connect to the breakers that will feed to the sub breaker rooms on each floor.

From where ever you look at it the fishing line entanglement will boggle your mind....

Eventually all this spaghetti will be sorted and connected in these boxes.

This area is the main electrical room and will be the operational command center for the entire campus. (And it does not include the technology pulls, they enter the building directly elsewhere!)

I'll try to get a photo when all the lines are shoved back and installed in these little boxes (though they are quite large, about 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide). For now I'll leave that mind boggle to the professionals!

Solving Problems

This huge piece of machinery is part of the HVAC system. It is the Heat and Cooling Recovery system. It is HUGE! Weighing around 8,000 pounds and standing 10 feet tall and nearly 18 feet long it awaits to be installed.

In fact, it sits down the hall on level 1
Around the corner and 18 feet below where it will be installed!

So how do you get something that big from there to here? Oh yeah, and mount it on the wall up there so it can still be accessed from all sides?

And a further question, how do you even get something that big in through the doors?

(answer to that question will be found in the post below :)

Auxialiary Gym Shaping Up

In the photo below you will see the south end wall in the auxiliary gym. I think these vertical windows will be a sweet feature of this space.

The light coming through the roof is the sound trap decking. Once covered with the metal roof, it will not be translucent. The millions of holes that you view now will trap sound thus damping the echo and reverberation in the gyms.
I was curious about this opening in the west wall of the gym (I knew there would not be a window or door there). This is a construction access point.

Some things that are delivered for installation later need a larger entry than a door way could provide, large HVAC machines, loaders, forklifts, all sorts of large equipment must continue to enter the building even as it is being closed up!

The masonry wall is irregular, called "toothing", and when all access has been made and it is no longer needed, it will be blocked back in along the toothed edges.

Dramatic light is always going to catch my attention!

To give you a sense of scale this photo shows Don Critcher, our WCS project coordinator, standing in the light! Thanks for all the work you do for all of us Don!

First Site Visit of 2009

It has been a while since I have been able to coordinate a site visit to our new campus. Winter weather and spring rains have made it difficult to get out and about at the right time for a walk through.

From the exterior it appears little has progressed, but rest assured work has carried on every day and a tremendous amount of progress has been made in spite of the ire of the elements.

Lets talk a walk in the front entrance....

Well, perhaps a walk in by the front door isn't such a good idea! Look closely at the wheels on that lift and you will see it mired in mud. the machine is actually driving into our main entrance, the front door of our school. The columns to the right will be the canopy posts out front for students waiting for parent pick up. At the left is the roof over the wrestling room.

Worth noticing there is the fascia that has been added to the roof, soon guttering will be attached and the final standing seam metal roof will be added.

As we step inside we will turn to the left and go to the Main Gym. I am fond of dramatic light and geometric shapes. So this photo and the next are a study in dark and light within the main gym.

To the right is the south end wall, you are looking east.

This is the south wall exposed for an interior shot. The vertical wall will be at the end of the ball court. It will have a huge insignia or school logo on that wall. What do you think should be painted there? Also, notice the large beam in the center!

That is the most massive, longest, and heaviest of all the roof girders in our building. It spans the length of the gym.

This is the concessions booth on the commons side of the main gym.

New Aerial Photographs of Campus

This aerial photo was taken in January. The first "sky" view of our campus this year!

In this annotated view it is exciting to see many features becoming more clearly defined.


This is an approach from the East.
That is the actual infield for the Softball field in the lower right.

This is a North approach, as if you were entering the driveway off of old 421
which is along the bottom of the photo above.

Here is an overview of the main building.

A zoom in over the classroom wings

And this is a detail of the intersection and contrasts in our roof design.

I find the geometry interesting in this photo.

Hopefully I will get over to the site this week for some updates on the interior progress.

All aerial photos were taken by

SKYSITE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Skysite Aerial Link

Thanks!