NOBLE, Okla.—Staff and students at Noble Public School in Noble are enjoying a new $19 million fine arts auditorium and gymnasium that opened for the 2019-2020 school year.

Serving approximately 2,800 students in the district, TAP Architecture designed the multi-purpose, two-story, 50,000-square-foot, single structure, which has been nicknamed “The Den” after the school’s bear mascot. Manhattan Construction Group was the general contractor.

Considered an economical option compared to building separate facilities for a performing arts center and a basketball gym, this new building replaces the old auditorium built in 1950. Because this 70-year-old venue seated less than 400 people, this required the school district to outsource some of its fine arts programs to other locations. Additionally, the former high school gym was not large enough to host competitive tournaments.

The new gym more than doubles the capacity of the former space. Configured as a basketball court, approximately 1,500 people can be seated in the new venue. The larger gym also elevated the school’s competitive athletic status by allowing it to host playoffs and other sporting events.

“This is a game changer,” said Noble Public Schools’ District Superintendent Frank Solomon. “I came here in 2001 and we had a small gym inside of our high school. I couldn’t tell you how many visiting teams and fans asked me, ‘Why are we playing in your junior high gym?’ …This is something that will benefit our community for years to come.”

Optimizing acoustics for the wide range of activities planned within the auditorium required high-performance materials. Forming the 17 clouds above the performing arts’ audience seating area, Rockfon® Planostile lay-in aluminum ceiling panels were acoustically improved with an Acoutex backer. This solution provides the absorption required to make speech intelligible and band music clear and comfortable to hear.

Complementing the ceiling clouds’ high performance, the Metalwood® Cherry woodgrain finish presents a refined aesthetic with practical durability.

TAP Architecture reviewed Rockfon’s complete portfolio of ceiling solutions, including acoustic stone wool ceiling panels, specialty metal ceiling products and suspension systems.

Lasco Acoustics & Drywall, Inc. installed nearly 10,500 square feet of acoustic stone wool; more than 3,100 square feet of metal ceiling panels; and 887 linear feet of metal perimeter trim.The metal ceiling panels can achieve up to 0.90 Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC), and stone wool can meet specifications of 0.95 NRC and higher. This high level of sound absorption decreases reverberation and improves speech intelligibility for group communication.

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TOMBALL Texas—A ribbon-cutting ceremony was recently held to celebrate the opening of the high school’s new agriculture center in Tomball ISD (TISD). This facility stems from the 2017 bond and will serve Career and Technical Education high school students pursuing an agriculture education.

“The new Tomball High School Ag Science Project Center was planned and designed to serve students with career and technical interests in the food, fiber, and natural resource industries, encompassing science, business, and technology in addition to production agriculture,” said Rayce Boyter, principal, VLK Architects, in a statement.

The approximately $4.9 million project includes two science classrooms that open directly to an outside courtyard, a nature trail, and a pond to incorporate outdoor learning. There are pens for cattle, lamb, hogs, poultry, rabbits, plus a covered exercise and show practicing area.

“This is a state-of-the-art facility that was made possible by the overwhelming support of Bond 2017 by our community,” said Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora, Superintendent of Tomball ISD, in a statement.

“It is always our goal to provide the best experiences we can offer for our students in a high-quality learning environment. This facility is just another example of that here in Tomball ISD.”

Houston-based Sterling Structures Inc. is the general contractor.

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HOUSTON—Several school projects in the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District’s (CISD) $335 million bond program are progressing rapidly, even amidst the current coronavirus pandemic.

Considered one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas, Goose Creek CISD is driven by massive growth in southeast Houston, with a projection of more than 2,250 new students over the next decade.

To accommodate this rapid growth, voters approved the passing of a new bond measure in June 2019, which provides funds for several projects, including new construction, aging school repairs, athletic improvements, safety and security improvements, and technology upgrades.

 “The district has been working hard to deliver exceptional facilities that will prepare students for their future,” said JP Grom, vice president of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), which is serving as the program manager.

“COVID 19 hasn’t stopped the district’s efforts. In fact, the district has accelerated some of the projects in this bond program.”

Goose Creek CISD superintendent Randal O’Brien concurred and said in a statement. “In the face of so many challenges from COVID-19, I’m thrilled to see our bond construction programs moving forward without delay. We look forward to the opening of our new projects.”

Edward Franklin “E.F.” Green Junior School is one of the biggest projects that broke ground last month. Named after the first African American educator to serve as a district-level administrator in Goose Creek, the $49.6 million facility is the district’s sixth junior school.

When completed next summer, the 192,000-square-foot school will house 1,100 students and include a 700-seat auditorium, dual competition gyms, media center, multiple computer labs per grade level, band hall, choir and theater programs. Pfluger Architects served as the project’s designer and the contractor is Pogue Construction.

The district’s existing San Jacinto Elementary School will soon be replaced with a new elementary school located just a few blocks away from its current location. With a completion date slated for December 2021, this new school will accommodate 800 students. Spanning 102,000 square feet, it will include a media center, gym, multiple computer labs per grade level, and an outdoor learning center. Designed by PBK Architects, the $22.5 million elementary school will be constructed by Marshall Construction.

The district is also adding a new Elementary School No. 17 to its current facility inventory. This elementary school— in a new master planned subdivision—will serve the rapidly growing north side of the district. The 102,000-square-foot facility will house 800 students and includes a media center, gym, multiple computer labs per grade level and an outdoor learning center. Originally scheduled for construction in fall 2021, the $22.5 million project has been moved up an entire year. PBK Architects is the designer.

The district is also expanding its Stuart Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school from 400 to 900 students. The CTE facility—originally an elementary school—has since been renovated for different uses, ranging from an administrative building to a special education facility. The latest renovations include the addition of a transportation academy, new welding lab, vet clinic, floral shop, IT academy and audio/video academy.

The $12.5 million project will renovate more than 60,000 square-foot of existing space and add a new 54,000-square-foot academic and administrative wing. The first two phases of the CTE facility were completed as part of the 2013 bond program. Phase 3 of the project, which is currently underway, will be completed in August 2020 while phase 4 will be completed next summer. Pfluger Architects is serving as the designer.

The renovation of the Robert E. Lee High School Auditorium is also underway. With a completion date set for January 2021, this historic 1,700-seat auditorium once served as the lone theater for the entire Baytown community in the 1950s and 1960s and was considered the premier theater in the greater Houston area. The $4.2 million renovation project will restore the auditorium to its original design aesthetic and include the latest theatrical improvements. The auditorium will be fitted with new lighting and audio systems, a new green room, new dressing rooms, new theater seating, new restroom layouts and a ticket booth/concession area. Huckabee is the project’s architect and it will be renovated by Comex Corp. Contractors.

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NEW YORK—A national education market study to share insight into priorities, timing of decision-making and challenges currently driving buying decisions in our country’s schools was recently released by Interactive Educational Systems Designs, Inc. (IESD), in partnership with MCH Strategic Data.

The report, K-12 Education and the Coronavirus Pandemic, includes input from 1,465 education leaders across the U.S., including more than 600 district administrators and more than 800 school principals.

The study combines the expert market research of the IESD team with the proven K-12 quality data collection proficiency of MCH to deliver reliable, statistically significant quantitative data to support immediate and back-to-school planning and decisions for education businesses. The survey report includes valuable recommendations based on IESD’s extensive experience in the education market.

The study, which is available for a fee, was designed to provide education businesses with reliable data and insights for developing product, marketing, and sales plans for the upcoming school year and beyond.

“Our clients are hungry to better understand what districts and schools across the country are thinking and planning,” said MCH President Amy Rambo.

“We know from our ongoing data collection efforts that schools still have a lot of decisions up in the air, but we wanted to provide deeper insight as customers work on back-to-school marketing and sales plans.”

IESD leaders Ellen Bialo and Jay Sivin-Kachala both agree.

“We have so many education market clients who are trying to figure out the key needs and challenges facing their customers, when to communicate, what to communicate, what districts and schools are likely to buy and when, and so much more,” said Bialo.

Added Sivin-Kachala, “It is difficult to plan without reliable information from the market, so we used the isolation time this spring to capture quantifiable data that should help education businesses plan.”

Key findings of the survey include the following:

• With the vast majority of respondents (94.8%) indicating that their districts/schools switched to online teaching and learning to complete the 2019-2020 school year,respondents were asked about their 2020-2021 plans for 13 budget items. The most frequent response for each budget item was that they will spend about the same—ranging from 43.4% to 68.1%, depending on the budget item.
• When asked how they were spending the remainder of their 2019-2020 budget due to the coronavirus pandemic, nearly half of the respondents (45.0%) said they are spending the remainder, but shifting spending to changing priorities.
• As for their timeframe for considering purchases for 2020-2021, a majority (57.0%) reported that they have already begun the decision process or will do so by the end of June. The remainder stated they are looking to make decisions over the summer or later in the fall.

Additional survey topics also included:

• Use of video conferencing systems
• Use of free and fee-based supplemental programs and resources
• Who provides professional development and support for distance learning: in-house staff and education resource providers
• Challenges in switching to distance learning
• What customers want most from curriculum and education resource providers
• Instructional planning for 2020-2021

To order the K-12 Education and the Coronavirus Pandemic survey report, as well as data files with crosstabs for organizations who want to do additional analysis, visit https://payhip.com/b/6MAr.  The cost is $199.

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MADISON, Wis.—The new $24 million Goodman South Campus of Madison Area Technical College (Madison College)—which opened last fall—is unique in that it incorporates biophilic-inspired elements, an earth tone palette, regional materials and other local character found throughout Madison College’s additional campuses around the state.

Designed by Plunkett Raysich Architects, the 93,000-square-foot facility brings a sense of the natural outside environment to this indoor space. When designing the school, the firm selected Rockfon’s ceiling systems in an oak woodgrain finish to create the distinctive overhead appearance.

Presenting the look of actual wood without the associated weight and maintenance, a metal wood finish was applied to Rockfon’s metal Planar® linear ceilings and matching Infinity perimeter trim.

Miron Construction was the general contractor on this impressive project. Contractor Central Ceiling Systems, Inc. installed approximately 4,000 square feet of linear metal ceiling systems, fashioning them into both straight and curved shapes, and accommodating recessed light fixtures.

Suspended ceiling clouds appear to float above the upper loft area and mimic the circular lights of the main floor’s café below. These large, open common areas promote a welcoming space for students and community to come together.

In the classroom corridors, the ceilings are installed as rectangular sections to break up what could have otherwise been long, monotone stretches of hallway.

Throughout the building, transparency and daylight enhance the openness and a connection to both the surrounding community and natural environment. Expandable and accessible community rooms and classrooms create an inviting multi-use facility. Flexible furniture and room dividers allow rooms to be configured as needed to fit the use of the building.
The Goodman South Campus building contains 34 classrooms for instruction in STEM and IT related fields, hands-on learning labs, a library and multiple computer areas. Nursing students are taught in a simulated hospital environment with interactive mannequins and medical equipment.

The new building is more than six times the size of the college’s current Village on Park location. The campus serves as an entry point for south side residents to receive high-demand skilled job training, earn an associate’s degree or start a path toward a bachelor’s degree. An early college STEM academy also is offered for high school juniors and seniors in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Along with providing quality education to an underserved area of Wisconsin, Madison College intended the building as a showcase for the college and the community, and as a successful example of public-private partnerships. Construction of the campus was funded with private donations, and honors Irwin A. and Robert D. Goodman—namesakes of the foundation that contributed a lead gift of $10 million to construct the campus.

The college serves more than 30,000 students throughout a 12-county district in south-central Wisconsin, offering nearly 180 diverse career programs, diplomas, and certificates. Madison College is the second-largest institution in the Wisconsin Technical College System.

“Building a new campus in south Madison isn’t about Madison College. It’s about serving a population that has been historically underrepresented and marginalized,” said Madison College Dr. Jack E. Daniels III, in a statement.

“It’s about answering the call to break the multigenerational cycle of poverty for south side residents and opening the door to a future of possibilities that have escaped the reality of those who live here.”

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SAN JOSE, Calif.—McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (McCarthy), a national design-build general contractor, in collaboration with FLAD Architects, recently celebrated a major project milestone with the topping out of a new Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) on the San Jose State University campus, the first new academic building on campus in more than 30 years and the first new science facility in almost 50 years. Hundreds of students, faculty and staff commemorated the occasion by signing the final structural beam before it was lifted to its final resting place.

The eight-story design-build project will serve the 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students within the College of Sciences and STEM majors from across the university, and is the first phase of the San Jose State University’s new Science Park, a science and innovation center highlighting the University’s commitment to dynamic research and innovation. In addition to research and teaching labs, the facility will feature specified rooms provided for student research teams to gather and work away from chemicals and instrument setups to discuss the results of projects called “collaboratories.” Each floor of the ISB will also include collaborative hubs for students and faculty to work together. Throughout its 161,200 square feet, the building will contain modern, state-of-the-art science laboratories and research capabilities in order to meet the needs of students within the disciplines of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology and high-performance computing.

The project is targeting LEED Gold in order to meet the sustainability objectives of the San Jose State University campus. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, the ISB will provide opportunities for students and faculty to collaborate with their Silicon Valley industry partners.

“The new ISB aims to transform the way science principles are taught and boost the University’s student offerings to new heights with a top-tier facility,” said McCarthy’s Project Director Jack Carter. “The design-build delivery is a critical component in delivering a superior building that meets the project’s goals of making research, teaching and collaboration inseparable.”

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HOUSTON—Tomball Independent School District (ISD) and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), the district’s program manager, celebrated the groundbreaking of its new junior high school, elementary school and football stadium on May 29.

Tomball ISD—one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas—currently enrolls about 15,000 students and estimates it will have an additional 4,500 students by 2021. To accommodate this rapid growth voters approved a $275 million bond referendum, known as Bond 2017, , in November 2017.

The bond package included funds for several projects, including a new elementary school, a new junior high school, an expansion project at Tomball Memorial High School to add classrooms, a new football stadium, improvements to the baseball and softball fields, a new swim training facility, and an agricultural science facility. Other improvements include instructional technology such as laptops, Chromebooks, and document cameras as well as upgrades in the district technology infrastructure. The bond package will also allow Tomball ISD to upgrade its fleet of school buses.

“The groundbreaking of the three new facilities takes Tomball ISD one step closer to meeting its needs for the next 50 to 75 years,” said JP Grom, AIA, LAN’s vice president. “The new facilities will provide Tomball’s students the environment and infrastructure needed to succeed in the 21st century.”

The 232,000-square-foot junior high school will relieve Willow Wood Junior High School, which currently uses portable buildings as classrooms. The $43.2 million junior high school, which is scheduled for completion in fall 2021, will accommodate 900 students. The 117,000 square-foot elementary school will relieve Wildwood Elementary School, which currently uses portable buildings to teach students. The $21.1 million elementary school, which will accommodate 675 students, will be completed in fall 2020. The district’s $42.2 million new football stadium, which is scheduled to be completed in fall 2020, will seat 10,000 spectators and 3,000 parking spaces. A new community facility that will be home to a conference center, sports locker/dressing rooms, athletic training and administration areas for sporting events is also included as a part of the stadium project. The current stadium has 7,500 seats and 2,000 parking spaces.

LAN is a full-service consulting firm offering planning, engineering and program management services for the nation’s heavy civil infrastructure needs.

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CYPRESS, Calif. — Sundt Construction, Inc. recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for Cypress College’s new Science, Engineering and Math (SEM) Building.

The new $80 million SEM building will replace the current outdated structure with a new complex that includes 22 classrooms, 25 laboratories, faculty offices, support spaces and a highly advanced, 100-seat domed immersive digital classroom.

When completed, the 106,023-square-foot facility will be the first new instructional space to open on the campus since 1976 and the first new building since 2007.

“We have a proven track record working with community colleges,” said Robert Stokes, vice president and Irvine regional director for Sundt’s Building Group, California District. “Education is essential to our community’s prosperity and being a part of this community college project is something we are very proud of.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 22, the NOCCCD Board of Trustees awarded a construction bid to Sundt Companies, Inc. for the construction phase services of the project.

The new SEM building is the first project to break ground under North Orange County Community College District’s $574 million Measure J program, passed by voters in November 2014.

Cypress College’s SEM division contains seven programs, including: biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, mathematics, physical science, and physics. The division currently offers 289 course sections to 8,287 students.

“Cypress College has served the North Orange County students and surrounding communities for over 52 years, and we are thrilled to start construction on this beautiful new addition to our college,” said Cypress College President Dr. JoAnna Schilling. “We take pride in offering exemplary educational programs in science, engineering and math, and are proud to be contributing to the future careers of our students and the local businesses that employ our students.”

The groundbreaking celebration included representatives from Cypress College, North Orange County Community College District, Sundt, LPA Inc., MAAS and Porter Consulting LLC. The new building is slated to open in time for fall semester 2021.

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WYLIE, Texas — A groundbreaking has officially kicked off on the new Collin College Wylie Campus, a 339,000-square-foot facility that will offer a comprehensive educational experience.

The full scope of the project is comprised of a four-building campus, located on a 96-acre greenfield site in Wylie, Texas, totaling 340,000 square feet and includes a student center, campus commons, learning resource center and a central utility plant.

Phase one of the new, modern campus will include the three multi-story instructional buildings operating as the library, campus commons and student center with conference center facilities.

“Collin County is experiencing phenomenal growth and the college’s Plano Campus is at capacity,” said Collin College District President Dr. Neil Matkin. “The new Wylie Campus will provide an opportunity for Collin College to offer excellent and affordable education close to home for students in southeastern Collin County.”

The College Wylie Campus will provide specialized facilities for science, engineering, information technology, fine arts, education, and health care programs to approximately 7,500 students.

“Building this new campus is a historic moment for Collin College,” said Dr. J. Robert Collins, Collin College board chair. “We are finally realizing our dream of offering higher education to everyone in Collin County. We would not be breaking ground for this new campus today without our strong partnership with the leaders in the city of Wylie.

Skanska has signed a contract for $131 million with Collin College to manage the construction of the new campus for the college. Skanska USA Building will include $131 million in its third quarter 2018 order bookings.

Skanska USA Building Inc. is building the Collin College Wylie Campus using the construction-manager-at-risk method.

Construction on this project began Oct. 19, 2018 and is slated for completion in June 2020. The project architect is Page Southerland Page, Inc. of Houston.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for Residence Hall 2020, a facility that will help the school meet the increased demand of on-campus housing.

Plans for the new residence hall allow for more than 730 students to join the 2,880 students housed in UAB’s six other residence halls.

“Our undergraduate enrollment continues to grow, and the next phase of on-campus development and growth is ready to begin,” said John Jones, Ph.D., vice president of Student Affairs. “The need for this new residence hall sends a phenomenal message to our future students in that we continue to be committed to provide a robust university experience through our residence life opportunities. Providing a residential component where students live together on campus creates communities across undergraduate academic disciplines and fuels our collegial and creative environment and further enhances the overall student experience at UAB.”

The Residence Hall 2020 project architect is Goodwyn Mills and Cawood, Inc. The general contractor is M.J. Harris Construction Services, LLC. The facility has been designed intentionally to ensure sustainability is a priority, and it will become UAB’s first LEED silver building.

The 231,000-square-foot residence hall will mirror the location of the New Freshman Residence Hall and will be built near the Campus Green on property owned by UAB — the south half of the block bordered by ninth and 10th avenues south and 16th and 17th streets. The U-shaped building will consist of dedicated study spaces, a storm shelter, multi-use office space, and a dining venue with three food vendors and seating capacity for 250.

“This is truly a win for our students,” said Marc Booker, director of Student Housing. “The residence halls play an integral role of providing transformational experiences for UAB undergraduate students as they pursue academic success and prepare for life beyond the campus. This new hall will enable us to serve, engage and retain more students than ever before.”

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