Northeast Elementary and Hermosa Middle School
Farmington, N.M.
Best Project
Owner/Developer Farmington Municipal Schools
General Contractor Jaynes Corp.
Lead Design Firm FBT Architects
Structural Engineer Walla Engineering
Civil Engineer High Mesa Consulting Group
MEP Engineer Bridgers & Paxton
Subcontractors ABC Door; Accent Landscape Contractors; Beaty Masonry Co.; Blackburn Construction Staking; CCWC; Century Sign Builders; Consolidated Constructors; Cooper Fire Protection Services; Devcorp; DKG & Associates; Echo Electric Co.; F&R Painting; Fence Tech; Institutional Products; Jaynes Structures Concrete; Kenyon Plastering of New Mexico; La Plata Construction; McComas Sales; Miller Bonded; Network Cabling; Norcon of New Mexico; Four Corners Materials; PTI Electrical Contractors; San Juan Insulation & Drywall; San Juan Signs; Southwest Glass & Glazing; Spectrum Floors; American National Insulation & Seal; thyssenkrupp Elevator; Winters Construction
Directly adjacent to one another, Northeast Elementary and Hermosa Middle School in Farmington, N.M., were built at the same time on a fast-track, 10-month schedule. Both used a construction manager at-risk (CMAR) project delivery method. Hermosa Middle School is 92,000 sq ft of addition with renovation, and Northeast Elementary is 76,000 sq ft of new construction.
“Given the parallel time line for both the Northeast Elementary and Hermosa Middle School projects, the CMAR method of project delivery allowed the owner timely occupancy of both schools which otherwise would have extended beneficial use by more than six months,” says Ryan Parks, services manager for Jaynes Corp., the project’s general contractor.
Severe differences in elevations on the site, which had been affected by neighborhood flooding, required a retaining wall—12 ft high in some areas around the elementary school—along with the construction of a dedicated underground drainage system.
To mitigate flood events during construction, existing drainage piping was left in place and retention ponds created to capture onsite runoff.
The middle school upgrade included remodeling an existing classroom wing and a gymnasium, while occupied, as well as building a new structure between the two facilities.
The use of BIM in the design and construction phases aided in installing a displacement ventilation HVAC system with numerous duct runs. BIM was used for clash detection and also prompted the team to fabricate elements of the building’s systems when possible.
There were zero Occupational Safety and Health Administration recordable incidents during more than 320,000 work-hours on the $35-million project.
