When students and parents enter the new 230,000-sq-ft building, they’re met by spaces for computer-controlled machinery, robotics, metalworking, mechatronics and engineering—all of which highlight the school’s advanced manufacturing curriculum based on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) concepts. Other features of the 1,000-student facility include athletic facilities, classrooms, art space and theatre that required an intricate plastic laminate paneling system installed at specific and differing angles.

Preparing the site for construction required blasting and removal of approximately 20,000 cu yd of rock, and relocation of a key water line. Record rain events forced multiple delays in the placement of concrete and steel, requiring the project team to scramble to limit the delay in the building’s final delivery to just two weeks. Because athletic field grass required a year-long head-start prior to turnover, special measures were taken to protect the area after its initial seeding, and utilize alternative access and laydown locations.

As the project spanned 65 acres, ensuring trade compliance with stringent safety standards was a major ongoing challenge. That included weekly teamwide Toolbox Talks, monitoring three separate site entrances to limit the amount of equipment traffic in any one area and extensive planning to ensure safe access and egress to the building’s varying roof heights. When the COVID-19 pandemic arose during construction, all employees were required to be tested each day prior to beginning work. The project team conducted more than 120 documented safety inspections over 18 months, with no recordable incidents or lost-time accidents over nearly 345,000 work hours.