Not Fancy But Functional
By K. Robert Wendel

It's not as big or fancy as some high schools in the Phoenix area but the new Copper Canyon High in west suburban Tolleson is functional.

And that is what the Arizona State School Facilities Board is paying for. The board, tasked with repairing and constructing schools throughout the state, is working fast to keep up with the new growth, especially on the west side of Phoenix.

Crews from the Phoenix office of Adolfson and Peterson Construction started work on the 225,000-sq.-ft. project in October 2003 and turned 65 percent of the project over to owner Tolleson Unified School District in August. A & P will return the remaining space over in December.

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The school facilities board bases its funding decisions on a formula that includes student population, whether the school is urban or rural and existing square footage. School districts submit a capital plan each fall, which is then reviewed by the board. Based on the formula, the board then allocates between $102 and $115 per sq. ft. for new construction.

Since funding became available through the 1999 Students First ballot initiative, the S.F.B. has completed 176 new schools in 65 school districts.

The S.F.B. has tackled more than 6,000 projects with a budget of more than $2 billion.

The $20.8 million Copper Canyon is starting out with just freshman students, giving A&P time to finish up a cafeteria, some classrooms, ball fields and tennis courts. Eventually, the school will support 2,200 students.

A 22,000-sq.-ft. performing arts center is scheduled to break ground soon.

A&P will also build that estimated $4.4 million project.

The Copper Canyon project borrows the same building and campus layout from an earlier high school project in Tolleson, so design changes and issues were kept to a minimum. ADM Architects of Phoenix designed both projects.

"It's a prototypical high school, so a lot of the buildings are similar," said project architect Michael Schubert. "It cuts down on design time, although each principal has his or her own way to educate the kids."

The project consists of nine buildings sitting on slab-on-grade foundations.

Load-bearing masonry walls support steel roof joists that are capped off with a built-up roof. Thunderbird Masonry of Phoenix placed 303,000 units of mostly smooth- faced block, although split- face block was used for accents.

Although a fairly straightforward job, masons had to use a few tricks for the masonry to interface with some architectural components.

"The precast coping and precast columns were a little bit of a challenge," said

Thunderbird Masonry president Mike Meskimen. "We had to figure out some different methods and use some different materials to get it to work and look good."

The utilitarian project features a full- service cafeteria and a indoor/outdoor dining area. Classroom buildings are grouped by subject. There is a fine arts building, occupational studies building, business building, gym and media center.

"I think it's a tribute to the architect that he's not going after a design award or creating a one-of-a-kind project," said structural engineer Stephan Schwan of

A.V. Schwan and Associates of Scottsdale. "We did a lot of value engineering up front to get the most economical building. We tried to come up with the best way to maximize the dollar."

The project uses roof top units rather than a central plant due to funding limitations.

"A central plant ran in excess of $1.2 million in addition to the roof top units, and so unless the owner pays for it, it doesn't happen," said Jeff Keck, an A & P project manager. "It's kind of a shame because you lose those savings over time, but that's what the SFB funding levels are."

>A Passing Grade
>Not Fancy But Functional