NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—General contracting firm Gilbane Building Company has broken ground on a new annex educational facility for California State University, Northridge.

As designed by Gensler, the 62,000-square-foot, $43.4-million Sierra Annex will be cited adjacent to the existing Sierra Hall. Sierra Annex will be home to a 3,000-square-foot main lecture hall, seminar rooms, classrooms and a few additional lecture halls. Gensler’s design incorporates natural lighting, and the hall’s flow of space is meant to encourage collaboration. The classrooms are also designed to be flexible such that they can be adapated for multiple uses.

Gensler and Gilbane previously collaborated on CSUN’s Associated Students Sustainability Center, which came online in 2017. In a recent announcement on the firm’s website, Gilbane’s area manager Raul Rosales said that his company enjoys a long-term working relationship with CSUN and Gensler, and thus this project offered an opportunity to continue such a collaboration.

“We are excited to be working on this inspiring project that will not only be an iconic building on campus, but improve the student’s academic experience as well,” he said.

The Sierra Annex is scheduled to debut for the fall 2023 semester, with additional work to be completed sometime in 2025.

Gilbane was founded in 1870 and remains a privately run, family-operated firm, with nearly 50 offices worldwide. Their Los Angeles office has been engaged in the Sierra Annex project.

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TEMPE, Ariz.—Construction firm Gilbane and its team have worked fruitfully with Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community on a new educational building, called the Blackwater Community School. The two-story structure will have the capability to serve students from preschool and on through 5th grade. The school will also host the local Family and Child Education Program (F.A.C.E.).

Gilbane’s partners on the job included electrical engineer Rosendin, based in San Jose, as well as architectural designer Breckenridge Group.

The $25 million project’s aim was to replace an older school that existed on the same 7.43-acre campus before but had fallen into disrepair. The new facility entails educational space as well as a cafeteria, multipurpose area and media center. Throughout the new campus, the contractors and architects worked with tribal leaders to hang artwork important to the two tribes serviced by the school, the Akimel O’Otham, descended from the Hohokam people, and the Pee Posh, of Yuma ancestry. Accordingly, all the artwork at the school was approved by the Blackwater Community School Board.

Historically, the Hohokam were known for their technological virtuosity when it came to irrigating crops in the extremely arid Southwest. Accordingly, artwork on the campus showcases scenes of the Hohokam engaging in agricultural activities. Furthermore, a shade structure constructed of metal was fashioned to resemble cactus ribs, a material the Akimel O’Otham used.

Rosendin, the electrical company, ensured that the artworks were properly lit. Rosendin also worked on improving exterior illumination to sports fields, playgrounds and various patio spaces as well.

“The Blackwater Community School is the heart of the community and celebrates the Gila River Indian Community’s heritage throughout the year,” Jagdish (Jack) Sharma, principal of Blackwater Community School, said in a recent statement. “Our educators take pride in our quality educational practices and the presence of traditions. This is the reason why traditional symbols of the culture are placed throughout the new campus.”

Sharma added that one of the school’s murals shows the nighttime desert, and the name “Blackwater” itself comes from how the desert’s standing water looks darkly in the evening. “There are murals like this all over campus that reflect our students’ culture enriching their overall learning experience,” Sharma said.

Parts of the construction had to be completed while students were still in session at the older buildings. Accordingly, scheduling had to be juggled so that the largest parts of the buildout took place over breaks when students weren’t at school.

“Blackwater Community School will serve as a pivotal gathering and educational spot for children and adults on the Gila River Indian Community,” Jeff Keck, senior project executive of Gilbane Building Company, said in a recent statement about his firm’s work. “Gilbane is proud to work with Rosendin and other trade partners to have safely built a new campus to support this community’s families, cultures and traditions.”

Added Ben Miller, Rosendin’s division manager: “Rosendin is proud to have built the new elementary school in the Gila River Indian Community to give students the very best environment to learn and grow. The school will serve as the hub of the larger community and support family education and culture in the local area.”

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ARLINGTON, Va.—The Heights, a new secondary school building in Arlington, is now complete. The 181,000-square-foot facility co-locates two Arlington Public School (APS) programs—a democratic alternative magnet program, and a program for students with severe intellectual disabilities.

Leo A Daly served as executive architect for the approximately $100-million project, working closely with design architect BIG—Bjarke Ingels Group. Gilbane Building Company provided construction manager at-risk services.

“The Heights creates a new architectural icon in Northern Virginia and one of the most innovative educational facilities ever built,” explained Tim Duffy, vice president and director of technical services with Leo A Daly.

“Learning and community are infused into every detail—from its twisting geometry to the bespoke learning environments that support students in their educational journey.”

The team successfully maximized density and open space on the constrained site. Five levels of classrooms are rotated around a central pivot point, creating rooftop terraces on each level that serve as outdoor educational environments. A cascading central stair stitches the five levels together, creating a sense of connectivity and community that is rare in midrise school buildings.

A lobby and gathering space, theater and gymnasium are located on the ground floor, occupying spaces of varying heights created by the rotation of the classroom bars. Public areas are accessible from the main street along Wilson Boulevard.

The large open lobby offers tiered seating for students to gather. Classrooms use flexible layouts that can be rearranged for different learning formats. State-of-the-art smart panel screens allow students to share content from their own school-issued devices for more interactive learning. Specialized spaces include a library, art studio, a kiln, science and robotics labs, music rehearsal rooms and two performing arts theaters.

Additionally, four rooftop terraces are accessible directly from classrooms on levels two through five. Each terrace provides a different scale of activity, from large gatherings to class discussions and quiet study areas. The four terraces are designed to reflect the major ecosystems of the Mid-Atlantic physiographic regions and are landscaped with native plants and tree species through an intensive green roof system.

Leo A Daly and BIG worked closely with structural engineering firm Robert Silman Associates to execute the building’s many gravity-defying cantilevers. A system of trusses transfers building loads at each level, while avoiding the need to have columns in classrooms or other large program areas, such as the gym and theater. A careful erection sequence was carried out in phases to build the complicated structure.

The project was designed in response to the rapid densification currently underway in the Rosslyn business district. As part of the West Rosslyn Area Plan (WRAP), the Heights contributes to an urban mixed-use corridor defined by civic-minded public spaces and a blend of retail, office and residential uses.

The Heights supports the learning needs of two unique APS programs housed there: H-B Woodlawn and the Stratford Program.

Based on the liberal education movements on the 1960s and 1970s, H-B Woodlawn empowers students from grades 6 through 12 to direct their own courses of study and engage directly in administrative matters. The space was designed more like a university campus than a typical high school.

The Eunice Shriver Kennedy Program—which serves special-needs students aged 11 to 22— occupies two levels within a dedicated wing of the building. Many Shriver Program students use wheelchairs and have sensory and motor disabilities that require the help of a personal companion during the day. The curriculum is individualized to each student and focuses on vocational and community skills such as daily living, communication, leisure, recreation and other skills that help with independence.

The density of the building’s program also required a careful approach to acoustical design. Spaces with the greatest potential for noise bleed—such as gyms and theaters—are located on the ground floor. Other spaces, such as music rehearsal rooms, have isolated floor slabs and suspended ceilings to buffer them from surrounding classrooms. The large auditorium uses conditioned air supplied through an underfloor plenum, achieving isolation from the adjacent mechanical room.

This high-performance, sustainable building is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification.

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