CREJ

/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2016

Challenges of Completing School Remodels, Additions

ver the past five years, there have been sev-

eral major bonds passed to improve K-12

facilities in Colorado through remodel-

ing and additions due to the increased popula-

tion in the state. Local universities are also see-

ing an increase in student enrollment and are

seeking a more efficient use of space to accom-

modate their growing student body.

Our company has been a part of numerous K-12

and higher education remodels and additions

throughout the past 44 years. Though K-12 and

higher education facilities have very different end

goals, they both share similar challenges when re-

modeling or adding to an existing education facility.

Older Buildings with Unknown Histories

One of the key components that come into play

on any renovation project are unforeseen circum-

stances. Many of these education facilities are de-

cades old with a hidden past and no recorded his-

tory. Design teams can tirelessly research an older

building for years leading up to construction, and

there will still be unforeseen conditions that arise.

Quite often, old buildings do not have an accurate

set of as-built drawings that reflect the details of

the existing building’s actual construction assembly.

When possible, early involvement and investigation

is crucial to the success of renovations/additions.

Colorado School of Mines Ben. H. Parker Student Renova-

tion – Phases 1 and 2:

The student center was built in

the early 1960s and originally was called the College

Union. The civil rights movement, Vietnam War

and 13 presidential elections were just a few of the

events the building lived through in its 50-year his-

tory. The number of renovations and updates that

took place in the facility were well over 100, and ap-

proximately 80 percent of these updates were un-

documented. Sound familiar?

When Phase 1 operations began, the Saunders

project team immediately ran into unforeseen is-

sues that were discovered during demolition and

the initial stages of construction. As layers of the

building were demolished, the facility’s lost histo-

ry of unknown renovations began to surface. The

original as-builts were not even close to represent-

ing what the project team encountered. Saunders

worked with H+L Architecture to develop a plan to

update the as-builts to represent the true state of

the building. This collaboration with the architect

was vital to getting this project completed on time

and on budget.

Student Safety is Paramount

All education remodels and additions should have

very specific safety plans due to the close proximity

of children and young adults to the site. Schedule

is always important to our clients, but the safety of

the community is even greater. Sometimes meeting

high safety standards requires that the team sepa-

rate construction operations from the existing fa-

cility as much as possible, or complete operations

during nonschool hours.

Open communication with staff and students on

construction operations is important to keeping

Summer

Westbrooks

Marketing

and

Commu-

nications,

Saunders

Con-

struction

ELEMENTS

Educational Facilities

David Patterson Photography

Valor Christian incudes a Starbucks stop.

Paul Wedlake Photography

Music is central to Valor’s Center for Culture and

Influence.