Class Act:
CORE Builds Southern Nevada's New Prototype High School
By Tony Illia

The Clark County School District's 10-year, $3.78 billion construction program is well on its way to graduation.

The massive multi-faceted undertaking, approved by voters in 1998 and financed by a combination of hotel-room and property taxes, will result in 90 new schools and 11 replacement facilities, plus hundreds of facility upgrades.

The program has built new 53 schools plus four replacement schools to date.

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"We are focused on keeping up with growth," said Fred C. Smith, CCSD's director of construction management. "Every new school that opens is filled almost instantly."

Over the last decade, the Clark County School District's enrollment has increased 85 percent or by an average of 12,303 students per year. It now has an estimated 280,000 students, making Clark County the fifth largest public school district in the nation.

CCSD Superintendent Carlos Garcia expects a 5 percent annual enrollment increase through 2013. As such, nearly $600 million in new construction will be spent next year to keep pace with growth.

Currently, CORE Construction of Nevada Inc., Las Vegas, is building a $45.2 million state of-the-art high school at Buffalo Road and Grand Teton Drive in northwest Las Vegas. The new 360,000-sq.-ft. school uses the district's newest prototype design, which calls for a 50,000-sq.-ft. enclosed mall.

Conceived by Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects of Henderson, the plan is organized around a central double-height mall divided into three zones for academics, activities and plazas.

"People will walk into a big, open mall area that takes full advantage of the natural light," said Windom Kimsey, principal of Tate Snyder Kimsey. "With this mall concept the students are in a controlled environment from a security perspective and a climate perspective."

The still-unnamed, two-story school is a steel-framed structure with a glass, corrugated metal and masonry exterior. The building is oriented on an east-west axis to maximize sunlight, creating an open airy feeling while saving money on artificial lighting and climate control.

The building uses nearly 50 percent more natural light than the district's previous high school design, said Gary Siroky, president of CORE Construction.

Nearly 25,000 cu. yards of excavation and 15,000 cu. yards of imported soil were needed to prepare the 35.63-acre site for construction. The building, which has a 223,000-sq.-ft. footprint, sits atop a slab foundation with grade beams and spread footings. The project will utilize a total of 10,000 cu. yards of concrete and 1,400 tons of structural steel. Phoenix-based JBA Consulting Engineers is the structural designer.

With a combined occupancy of 2,026 students and staff, the building will be serviced by a 7,000-sq.-ft. central plant housing three boilers, two chillers and two cooling towers. There are also 25 roof-mounted air- handling units.

Southwest Air Conditioning Inc. of Las Vegas, is the mechanical contractor.

The school has extensive recreational amenities, including a soccer field, six basketball courts, a baseball diamond, eight tennis courts and a football field with 5,000 bleacher seats. There is also a 453-seat performance auditorium with sound, lighting and a raised stage; and a maple- floor gymnasium with four basketball courts and retractable bleacher seating for 2,700. The wide column-free space required using six steel I-beam roof girders, measuring 107- ft. -long by 12 -ft. -tall.

The school has 60 different classrooms as well as eight fire-rated chemistry/biology labs that come equipped with compressed air, purified water and gas.

Students can additionally choose from several vocational learning environments, which include an auto shop, photography lab and art studio.

Scheduled to open by August 2005, the 23-month project will see 300 tradesmen onsite during the height of construction activity.

"Coordinating the activities of 52 subcontractors and suppliers wasn't easy," said Bill Curfman, CORE's project manager. "Also, the sequencing was different due to the mall component,." he added.

The school features drought- tolerant landscaping, 851 surface parking spots and a 6,580-sq.-ft. metal canopied entryway. It's the first of at least five planned new high schools throughout the Las Vegas Valley to use the new mall prototype.

The design received the 2002 American Institute of Architects Nevada Design Award and the 2002 Council of Educational Facility Planners International Project of Distinction.

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