Duplicated design
School builds on success by cloning, refining campus drawings

By Mardy Fones

A $24 million high school under construction on 80 acres of farmland in Tennessee's fastest-growing, most affluent county is the latest element of a thriving building program for Williamson County School District in Franklin, Tenn.

Reusing a design already in place at the county's Ravenwood High School, Independence High School incorporates economies of scale, cutting-edge technology and a focus on function.

"Williamson County has a great building program," said Barbara L. Estrin, senior project manager with Turner Universal, the Brentwood, Tenn., firm responsible for construction management of the 250,000-sq.-ft. building and adjacent athletic facilities. "They understand construction management and the value it brings."

Turner was awarded the contract in June 2002 and site work began in September 2002.

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Reusing the Ravenwood design of Johnson & Bailey Architects, Murfreesboro, Tenn., fits the district's needs on many levels, said David Heath, deputy director of the school district.

"It's an aesthetically pleasing building with large open areas and wide hallways (for) traffic flow," he added. American Constructors of Nashville completed Ravenwood in 2002.

Turner recently completed a 20,000-sq.-ft. addition to Brentwood Middle School, one of 33 schools in the Williamson Country district. Other Turner projects in Tennessee are Nashville Super Speedway, construction of and expansion at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga and projects at Oakridge National Laboratory near Knoxville.

"(Our school board) selected Turner because we've had good experience with them and also for their abilities," Heath said.

Growth is the watchword in Williamson County. Most residents are affluent professionals drawn by the schools, upscale homes and proximity to Nashville. The county's 53 percent growth in the past 10 years has fueled demand for schools.

That demand has been met with an ongoing building program that has included three new schools plus extensive additions and renovations in the last two years.

"In the past two years alone, we've invested $75 million in construction and renovation," said Kevin Fortney, district director of facilities and construction. Designed to seat 1,800 students, Independence is set for a fall 2004 opening with phased turnover beginning in spring 2004.

New school ahead. While reuse of an existing design has resulted in little direct cost savings, there have been other advantages.

"The real benefit is that (experience with the plan) has shown us where the problems are and enabled us to correct them," Heath said. He said changes in the athletic facilities created more storage space and other re-designs created shared science laboratories that reduced equipment costs and opened space for more classrooms.

The two-story school is designed around a pod concept that localizes classrooms and the media center/library at one end. At the core are public areas containing an 800-seat cafeteria, administration and guidance offices. Beyond the core is a fixed-seat auditorium accommodating 450. It includes a stage, catwalk, back-of-the-house areas and technology booth. Arts and music studios and practice rooms have their own facilities.

"We wanted to avoid too many competing uses for the same space," Heath added.

Sports facilities - a practice gymnasium and a main gymnasium, weight room and locker rooms - are at the opposite end. Ringing the school are four tennis courts, softball and baseball fields, a football stadium with bleacher seating and a press box, a practice field, two soccer fields and parking lots.

The building exterior is made of load-bearing masonry and red brick veneer. All electrical service and technology wiring is concealed in conduit and imbedded in the slab.

"That makes for a cleaner project and makes (the finish work) on the tail end more efficient since we're not running conduit in the ceiling," Turner's Estrin said. The second level employs structural steel with bar joists and metal decking in combination with precast floor panels.

Contributing to the efficiency of the construction are subcontractors who worked on Ravenwood High School. Turner Universal also ordered materials for the job and stored them to eliminate costly, frustrating delays, Estrin said.

"Interior finishes, including composite floor tile, the ceramic tile on walls and paint, were selected for durability," she added.

The district also is constructing access from U.S. Highway 31 to the school. That piece of the project is costing $500,000 and the access will be turned over to the county at completion.

Site development. An exceptionally wet year meant slow drying of clay pervasive in the region and hindered site development, Estrin said. And a sinkhole, a geological feature common in the mid-South, added about $60,000 to the design.

"County ordinances (forbid) remedial work (on a sinkhole), so we moved the building approximately 300 ft. west," Fortney added. "It actually creates a green space near the school. While there have been thoughts of turning it into an amphitheater, nothing is definite. I expect once the students are here its use will evolve on its own."

Because of the school's rural setting, the construction of an on-site wastewater treatment plant with sand filters and a drip field was essential. Littlejohn Engineering of Nashville, designed the $950,000 facility and Mid-State Construction of Livingston, Tenn., built it.

"The district's information technology group is handling the design of technology and communications (grid)," Fortney said. A portion of the school will be wireless ready, so computers and other devices can easily be wheeled from one classroom to another, but the majority of the building will be hard wired.

"(Wireless) is evolving," Fortney added. "As we move toward completion, we'll take a look at what's available and adapt accordingly."

Heath said the district will be able to add new components as they come along.

"As long as you have that infrastructure, you'll be able to adapt," he added.

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