SAN MARCOS, Calif.—General contractor Erickson-Hall Construction Co. and its partners have topped out on the Palomar College Athletics Stadium, a project the firm commenced on earlier this year. The topping-out coincides with the firm’s first quarter-century in business.

The athletics complex entails new football and softball fields at the Palomar Community College main campus. Working in conjunction with HMC Architects, Erickson-Hall anticipates delivering the completed athletic facility for the community college next year.

“Being chosen to construct these new and important facilities for Palomar College is an honor,” Mat Gates, President of Erickson-Hall, said of the work. “Our team is working hard to deliver two innovative stadiums for Palomar College, each [providing] spaces for student-athletes to train, compete and enjoy, and for spectators to watch various sports with exceptional visibility.”

Added Dr. Star Rivera-Lacey, superintendent and president of Palomar College: “Erickson-Hall has extensive experience in the construction of athletic facilities specifically for schools, and we are excited about the tremendous work in progress. These two new stadiums represent an incredible opportunity to serve our student athletes and our surrounding communities.”

In its first 25 years in business, Erickson-Hall has completed $2 billion in construction work, $1.5 billion of which was in the educational sector. The firm provides such services as preconstruction, general contracting, construction management, design-build, design assist-build, and lease-leaseback.

Palomar College has four locations throughout San Diego County and enrolls approximately 25,000 full-time and part-time students all told.

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ESCONDIDO, Calif.—General contractor Erickson-Hall has broken ground on a new athletics facility at this Southern California college. Construction personnel as well as staff from the college gathered in December for a groundbreaking ceremony for the $22.8 million football stadium and softball fields at the school’s San Marcos campus. Palomar College, which was founded in 1946, has never had a football stadium to call its own, and has continually had to play its games at nearby high schools.

The softball stadium will be able to seat 207 people, and will feature batting cages, dugouts, press box, field house and bullpens. Palomar’s softball team is rather respected in the area considering it has taken home eight consecutive championships in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference.

Meanwhile, the football stadium, which will feature a synthetic turf field and three-story press box, will be able to house nearly 4,000 fans. The stadium will host the first football games to be played at Palomar in over 75 years. Additionally, it will also serve as host to other large events such as graduations.

“The anticipation from the community and student body for Palomar College’s new athletic facilities makes it such a rewarding project,” Mat Gates, Erickson-Hall’s president, said in a recent statement. “We can’t wait to celebrate with Palomar College when they can finally host their first home football game, and see their stellar softball team thrive in their new home!”

HMC Architects designed both of the athletic facilities at the San Marcos campus. In a phone conversation with School Construction News, HMC partner Brad Glassick said that one of the main challenges of constructing new athletic grounds was running into “undocumented utilities” below ground.

“It’s crucial to bring creativity to [solving] a problem you discover in the field,” Glassick said. “That’s proven true here at Palomar.”

Glassick said that one of the ways the project was able to achieve its timeline was working on the bleachers early, which shaved several months off of the project’s lead time.

“We are actually already into the deferred approval process rather than trying to get the bleacher shop drawings done, so that was one way we tried to short-circuit any schedule impacts,” he said.

His firm must also contend with supply chain issues related to electrical switch gear, requiring the architect to potentially make use of others options.

“We’ve looked at a couple different alternative pieces of equipment, so we still have to determine if they meet our project needs,” he said.

Construction on Palomar’s new softball and football stadium is ongoing, with a potential finish date projected for this coming October.

Of the architect’s collaboration with Erickson-Hall, Glassick praised the work HMC has undertaken thus far with the general contractor.

“We don’t have silos, we don’t have our corners to retreat to,” he said. “We all just want to be getting our work done for Palomar College, because we all know the faster we get the work done, the better we are as businesses and [being] successful on the project.”

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GLENDALE, Calif.—Glendale Mayor Ardy Kassakhian and other civic leaders signed their names to the final beam set into place atop Glendale Community College District’s New Science Building (NSB), which will be ready to welcome students in the fall of 2023.

The $90 million building is needed, considering that the community college will be welcoming a larger student body in the years to come, particularly in the scientific fields.

Over five stories of space, the NSB will serve the greater GCC community student body in both the physical and biological sciences.  The 116,000-square-foot facility will feature a 125-seat lecture hall, 31 science laboratories, faculty offices, as well as dedicated learning and instruction space for such fields of study as chemistry, biology, oceanography, geology and biotech.  The new laboratories are designed to adhere to educational chemistry safety standards set forth by the American Chemical Society.

The NSB will also connect to other campus structures, including the Camino Real, San Gabriel and Health Sciences buildings.

The venue is replacing smaller facilities spread out across multiple structures, including the San Gabriel, Arroyo Seco and Camino Real buildings.  By bringing all of these instruction capabilities together under one roof, Glendale Community College will be better able to refine its focus on STEM education and scientific research.

HMC Architects designed the NSB.  General contractor DPR Construction and Gafcon were on hand at the recent topping-out ceremony, and will continue to oversee the construction efforts at the site.

In a statement sent to School Construction News, DPR Construction said that working on a hilly site such as this one, in the foothills of Southern California’s San Gabriel Mountains, required managing a creative flow of both workers and materials.

“The beautiful Glendale Community College campus flows down a hillside.  However, this topography makes it difficult to carve out enough flat land to build compared to open, flat campuses,” DPR’s statement said.  “To prepare the New Science Building footprint, we built a large shoring wall and removed thousands of cubic yards of material.”

Much of the funding for the new building came from Measure GC, a bond program passed in 2016 by Glendale voters to upgrade several buildings across Glendale Community College’s various campuses.

Under the current construction timeline, most of the construction work will be completed next July, and be ready for students to move in for classes in the fall of 2023.

DPR Construction is headquartered in Northern California’s Redwood City.  Their other educational projects in the Golden State include work at CSU Long Beach and UC Santa Cruz.

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FOSTER CITY, Calif.—The San Mateo-Foster City School District (SMFCSD) recently welcomed to its family of learning centers the new Beach Park Elementary School in the Silicon Valley community of Foster City, located in the West Bay roughly halfway between San Jose and San Francisco.

HMC Architects, which operates out of an office in Oakland, worked with fellow Bay Area firm C. Overaa & Co., the project’s general contractor, based in Richmond. Representatives of both firms and of SMFCSD were on hand for a recent ribbon-cutting to inaugurate the newest school.

Beach Park Elementary School, designed for a complement of 420 students, was funded by the Measure X bond measure, which was successfully passed by voters in 2016. The measure set aside $148 million to address ongoing overcrowding throughout both Foster City and San Mateo.

SMFCSD wanted the best possible learning environment. Accordingly, the school contains “classroom clusters” that utilize both indoor and outdoor space in a shared learning area. Furthermore, the school features learning “nooks,” group instruction rooms, and a library and media center whose design allows for flexibility for various uses. In addition, “flexible” furniture, meant to assist in learning, was installed.

Another multipurpose building at the school has been designed for various uses including meal preparation and serving, outreach to the surrounding community, as well as a dedicated gathering space for public performances.

Throughout the school, the color palette utilizes green for positivity, blue for peacefulness and terracotta tones that symbolize creativity.

Marko Blagojevic, managing principal of HMC’s San Jose studio, said that the east-west orientation of the site, as well as less-than-optimal soil beneath the jobsite, were challenges that HMC and C. Overaa & Co. had to overcome as Beach Park Elementary took shape.

“To address this, the design team considered different design strategies and performed daylighting simulations in order to avoid expensive mat slab and/or deep foundations, minimize glare and heat load, and optimize natural daylighting inside the regularly occupied spaces,” Blagojevic said in a statement.

Accordingly, HMC’s work utilized interconnected, clerestory windows, limited fenestrations and deep overhangs.

“The school is designed for flexibility and embraces NextGen learning modalities,” Blagojevic commented. “The design team developed classroom clusters, learning nodes and indoor and outdoor collaboration areas in order to heighten indoor-outdoor spatial relationships, flexible learning environments, and shared collaboration spaces. It is incredibly rewarding to see excited students and teachers engage in such a setting and take ownership of their environment.”

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LOS ANGELES—The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged educators to reimagine and be creative with outdoor space as a way to support the safe return to in-person instruction given the lower risk of virus transmission.

To help schools and facilities professionals create equitable everyday outdoor learning experiences on their campuses, the Los Angeles County Office of Education has published design guidelines through the support of HMC Architects and engineering and construction experts.

After spending the last year mostly indoors, isolated, and in front of a screen, it’s more evident now than ever that young students crave connectedness with the natural world, which offers a unique opportunity for cognitive and physical development.

In March of 2020 — during the advent of COVID-19 — HMC began a long and ongoing research effort to better understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 and develop solutions for the safer reopening of PreK-12 schools. One common solution was the need for more open-air spaces.

LACOE and HMC also found that while the pandemic has forced educators to innovate and be creative with outdoor space to lower the risk of virus transmission, there are numerous benefits — pandemic or not — that outdoor education provides.

“Outdoor learning offers students a range of benefits, from enhancing engagement to reducing stress and promoting physical and psychological wellbeing,” said Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools. “Yet far too many of our young people, particularly those in inner-city and low-income communities, have not had access to outdoor learning environments and green space — not before nor during the pandemic. Increasing opportunities for outdoor learning is essential to advancing educational equity.”

Just as COVID-19 has disproportionately affected some populations more than others, this inequity is another educational injustice that the pandemic has exposed. According to LACOE and HMC, this inequity is an opportunity to seize the moment with strategies that place priority on meeting the needs of the whole child.

“The aim is not just to facilitate short-term COVID-19 solutions,” said HMC PreK-12 Practice Leader Brian Meyers. “We want to support the academic, social-emotional, and physical well-being of students and provide them with hands-on outdoor experiences during their school day long after the pandemic is over.”

Added Duardo, “When we take lessons outside classroom walls, we teach our children that learning can happen anywhere and anytime, promoting lifelong curiosity.”

It’s that curiosity that LACOE and HMC want to restore, as subjects like science either stopped or became limited for students through distance learning. Eighty-eight percent of teachers said that kids were learning less science during the pandemic. Pre-COVID, elementary teachers in California, on average, spent less than 60 minutes per week teaching science. According to LACOE, when students are surrounded by the outdoors, they become first-hand witnesses to natural processes. This direct observation is the first step in becoming a ‘natural scientist.’

With easy-to-use tools that can be customized for schools and districts, the guide covers everything from seating, sun shading, space definition, and landscaping to funding and professional development. LACOE and HMC see this as a chance to create new learning models. For example, schools can stagger classroom instruction with outdoor learning instead of the COVID-inspired hybrid model where students spend half the day in class and the other half at home.

To help reinforce the momentum toward safe, resilient learning environments that enhance student success, wellness, and community well beyond this current crisis, it’s clear that the benefits of making outdoor learning part of the normal routine are proven and can be the performance boost that our kids need right now.

The new Outdoor Learning Guide is available for free download at HMC’s website here: https://hmcarchitects.com/news/new-design-guidelines-for-outdoor-learning/

In addition to the Outdoor Learning Guide, HMC has also created a Campus Reboot Guide, and is committed to sharing all of its research findings in a series of white papers that focus on five main areas of Technology, Adaptability and Flexibility, Regulatory/Budgetary/Institutional Impacts, Space Needs/Reduction and Restructuring, and Impact to Wellness/Mental Health as they relate to the PreK-12 education sector.

These whitepapers can be downloaded here: https://hmcarchitects.com/research/

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HAYWARD, Calif.—HMC Architects and G4 Architects are in the process of designing a new $71.3 million Library and Learning Connections building at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif.

Chabot College serves a diverse student body where many students have full-time jobs, speak English as a secondary language, or come from low-income families.

The design of the new Library and Learning Connections building will proactively engage students, faculty members and other stakeholders and intertwine academic resources, study, and social spaces to soothe stigma around seeking help.

The four-story atrium provides an unobstructed visual connection through the building to the upper floors and spaces clustered around the atrium are branded for easy wayfinding. A café, library, learning resources, and variety of open and closed study spaces promote active student lifestyle and encourage social participation.

Open floor plans, large windows, and glazed skylights flood the atrium with natural daylight and put learning on display. Like the indoor spaces, outdoor spaces will also foster active learning. An amphitheater, attractive landscaping, tree canopies, mobile furnishing, and Wi-Fi and power access create flexible outdoor spaces to support a wide range of student activities.

The exterior design maximizes natural daylight with careful placement of windows, exterior shades, and a louvered shading system to block hot summer sun angles and welcome winter sun angles. The material and color palette draws inspiration from the campus’s predominant pre-cast concrete construction and surrounding natural environment. Gold accents evoke the school’s color identity and provide space for branding opportunities while the warm gray and sandy colors reflect the local natural environment.

Construction on the new Library and Learning Connections building will begin in 2021 with a slated completion date of July 2023. Rudolph and Sletten is the general contractor.

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LOS ANGELES—California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) Student Housing and Dining Commons has won a National Award of Merit in the Educational Facilities category from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA). As a result of this honor, the project is automatically a nominee for the National Award of Excellence in the Educational Facilities category, the highest honor within each category.

The collaborative design-build team consisted of HMC Architects (executive architect and housing design architect), EYRC Architects (dining commons architect), and Sundt Construction.

The new residential towers and dining commons serve as a highly visible entry point. The two mid-rise student housing buildings interlace shared social spaces, natural light, and open-air connections throughout the entire eight floors of each structure. Every floor has two 35-student households, providing many places to congregate, socialize, and study. A diversity of connections between indoors and outdoors is a defining feature. Ground-floor amenities are connected to outdoor spaces, promoting socialization and wellness. Balconies on the fifth floor connect students living on upper floors to the outdoors, while living rooms and lounges use full-height glass to queue students into the social activities happening inside.

Bedrooms feature abundant natural light while hallways end in views toward the campus and capture amazing views of the San Gabriel Mountains. Nooks and in-between spaces are designed for informal inhabitation where students can interact and make lasting connections. Warm materials, residential lighting and large communal tables aim to provide some of the warmth of home for students in the new 650-seat dining commons located at the campus entrance and gateway to the housing community. As part of a broader campus amenity, private eating areas and conference rooms equip the dining hall and accommodate late night diners.

DBIA’s 2020 award-winning projects were evaluated by a distinguished panel of design-build experts. All winners will be announced at DBIA’s Design-Build Conference and Expo Awards Ceremony on October 29th.

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SOUTH ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.—El Toro High School’s modernization for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District is now complete.

HMC Architects was the architect for this $8 million project. Balfour Beatty served as general contractor. The project features a 7,000-square-foot library modernization, 16,700-square-foot classroom building modernization, and a 2,000-square-foot demonstration classroom addition.

To relieve a densely overcrowded facility and create more classroom space, HMC Architects designed a future-focused learning environment that offers both students and teachers a variety of curriculum delivery opportunities and options for greater collaboration. Existing classrooms were reorganized around a commons area accessible to all passively encouraging students and teachers to interact.

This district pilot project is changing long-established norms on how teachers view ownership of classrooms thereby increasing the capacity of the campus without building a magnitude of new classrooms on an existing campus.

The school’s existing library was renovated into a modern media innovation center consistent with the premise of flexibility, opportunity, and driven by technology. A new entry gateway was designed, and the parking lot was modified for safety.

The design of the lecture demonstration space addition and media innovation center considers potential active shooter considerations. Passive safety measures, such as angled walls and functional window heights, to keep students safe have been implemented.

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WILMINGTON, Calif.—The Los Angeles Harbor College Student Union Building in Wilmington, designed by HMC Architects, has achieved LEED Gold Certification.

The 59,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art learning and social hub is home to the LAHC’s Culinary Arts Program as well as campus bookstore, dining hall, student government offices, and a multi-purpose room for a common gathering space. The intentional design unites the existing campus buildings while establishing itself as a unique member of the growing campus. As home to the school’s culinary arts program, the building features two industrial sized kitchens, two auditorium style demonstration classrooms, and a small bistro where student chefs cook and serve meals to visiting guests.

The HMC team, which partnered with Bernards on the design-build project, incorporated several sustainable design strategies to achieve Gold Certification including natural daylighting, drought tolerant landscaping, and low-emitting materials. The building’s roof reflects solar radiation and paving materials with low heat absorption reduce heat island impacts. Skylights bring daylight deep into the building and exterior sunshades prevent sun glare. Solar panels installed in the adjacent student parking lot offset over 17 percent of the building’s total energy use and helped the building achieve over 45 percent energy savings.

HMC Architects is a healthcare, education, and civic architecture firm, with over 350 employees across seven offices in the western U.S.—including California and Arizona. Bernards is a California-based commercial builder and construction management company that includes offices in San Fernando and Irvine.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.) and the American Institute of Architects, California Council (AIACC) recently recognized HMC Architects’ Floyd Farms at Leataata Floyd Elementary with an Award of Merit at the C.A.S.H./AIACC Leroy F. Greene Design and Planning Awards Ceremony on January 21.

Floyd Farms at Leataata Floyd Elementary will be home to a city-run community garden, Food Literacy Center’s cooking school and student gardens managed by the nonprofit’s program staff.

The $7 million future cooking school project is slated for completion by Spring 2021. Landmark Construction is the general contractor.

It will serve the 330 elementary school students enrolled at Leataata Floyd Elementary and their families, students throughout the Sacramento City Unified School District, and community members.

This ambitious and first-of-its-kind project is in partnership with the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), the City of Sacramento, The Mill at Broadway, which neighbors the school campus, and HMC Architects. Food Literacy Center currently operates out of a small, rented house which hasn’t allowed for the extensive community involvement they desire for their programming.

“As a young nonprofit, we haven’t had a ‘center’ where the community can come to us and cook,” said Amber Stott, founder and executive director of Food Literacy Center, in a statement.

The nonprofit currently delivers its hands-on cooking and nutrition classes to students and schools for free. The new state-of-the-art, green facility will include and support:

• Cooking School – Students will learn to cook healthy meals.
• Prep Kitchen – A place for Food Literacy Center staff and volunteers to prep for after school programs across the school district, focused on Title 1 schools.
• Training Space – Food Literacy Center staff will train future instructors of the curriculum and manage the day-to-day operations of the 2.5-acre project that will reach students daily.
• Community Programs – Including family cooking classes, school field trips, and more.

Said Assembly Member Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) in a statement, “I’m excited to see the Floyd Farms vision of bringing fresh produce to our local schools becoming a reality in Sacramento. This innovative model will increase children’s access to food literacy programs, which will build healthy eating habits that will benefit our students for years to come.”

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