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School Modernization
Building the new home of Carl Sandburg Elementary and Discovery Community School!
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May 1st
Construction News
Our new building continues to grow and change and near completion with each day. Here's a list of milestones that have been accomplished in the past few weeks:
· The building has been "dried in," meaning that the roof, walls, and most of the windows are now in place. This allows the drywall to be completed.
· Drywall is installed in all classrooms.
· Drywall has been mudded and taped in all classrooms.
· Most classrooms have been painted and have had wall coverings applied.
· Trim has been painted.
· Skylights have been installed.
· Masonry has been installed on most of the academic building.
· Steel siding has been installed on most of the academic building.
· Gas, electricity, and water has been connected to the new building.
· The large walls of windows are being constructed.
· The frames holding solar panels have been installed.
· The entire administration wing (the office) has been completely painted. It just needs a ceiling and carpet!
· Casework (cabinets) has arrived and is being installed.
We are on a great track and are well and truly heading to meet our August move-in date!
Below are some pictures from Tuesday, May 1, 2012.
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Exterior view of a classroom with the entry atrium in the background. |
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Our half-day kindergarten room. It just needs carpet, ceiling tiles, and built-in cubbies! |
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DCS Middles classroom. The stacks of materials are frames for skylights. |
April 24th
Last Monday we watched construction crews place the last beams in the construction of the building. This was an exciting and momentous occasion that lets us know we're well on our way to our August move-in date! I was able to take a tour on Thursday last week, the windows are in, the wall board is up in most classrooms, and many have had paint and wall covering applied. It looks great. I'll share some pictures next week. In the meantime, here are the beams your students signed!
March 13th
Below are a few more pictures of the progress on our beautiful new school building. The excitement builds as we see more of the building completed every day. Now that the exterior finishes are going up, the building looks more like it will on completion. Enjoy these pictures!
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Brick installation on the front of the school. |
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Skylights in a second floor learning area let in ample natural light. |
March 6th
It's been a busy few weeks around the Sandburg construction site. After touring the building last week, I am even more excited for the new school we will learn in next year. Rather than take up too much space with writing this week, I'll let the pictures and captions tell the story of how far we have come.
One of the second floor classrooms that looks out over the front of the school. That's 84th Ave in the background. Notice the large windows and ample natural lighting in the room.
Classrooms are clustered in groups of three or four, radiating around a shared learning space, like this one. In this picture you are looking from the door of one classroom into the shared learning space towards two other classrooms. The large open area in the wall to the left will be windows and doors separating the classrooms from the shared learning space. The opening to the right will be a large window to the outside. Again, these shared learning areas will be full of natural light.
 Speaking of natural light, the library is swimming in it! This view is from the circulation desk toward what will eventually be shelves and Mrs. Caddock's teaching space. All of the open space in the wall will be glass. The opening to the right will look out onto the playground. You can see the pointed roofs of the existing building. You will also look out on solar arrays that will provide power to the school on sunny days. These openings are covered with blue tarp now, to provide a dry work environment until the glass is installed.
Progress continues to be very smooth and we are looking good for our August 2012 opening. The building looks great and contains so much of what the Modernization Team had hoped for. I look forward to our students learning is such a great environment.
February 7th, 2012
This week, the workers are taking advantage of the beautiful weather, and getting the building closed in. Work is humming along and our new building looks more like a school every day. Enjoy this picture of a couple of our welders installing brackets to connect the academic building and the commons (gym, cafeteria, and music room).
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Workers installing brackets to connect the academic building and the commons |
January 31st, 2012
The construction of the future home of Carl Sandburg Elementary and Discovery Community School continues to move along nicely. January's snow storm did cause some delays in deliveries and work, and Spee West, our contractor, is working hard to make up time. They are working overtime and on Saturdays, and are rescheduling some work to help things go faster and ensure an on-time opening next August. We will be ready for registration in late August and will have a fully functioning building in time for the first day of school in September.
Currently, you can see crews working on installing the roof over the academic building, installing interior and exterior framing, pouring the concrete walls for the gym, commons, and music room, and installing cables, wires, pipes, and duct work to make our building safe, comfortable, and fully operational. Last week I had the opportunity to tour the construction site. The building looks great - so much of what our Modernization Team (parents, staff, and architects) envisioned for the building is rapidly becoming a reality. There is a beautiful grand entrance that will welcome our students, parents, community members, and staff, reminding them that school is an important place and their presence is valuable. Each classroom is bright and well-lit with natural lighting and the shared learning spaces in each cluster of rooms is designed to allow students and teachers to work in flexible spaces. The central hallway helps our classrooms feel close together without being cramped. The school is shaping up to be a beautiful and inspiring place to learn.
Below are some new renderings of the interior and exterior spaces that may help you envision our future home.
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The commons with the stage and music room in the background. A folding wall will separate the music room from the stage. |
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A second floor shared learning space with classrooms to the left and right. |
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The library looking north, over the entrance to the school. |
December 13th, 2011
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The progress on the new building moves forward with steady progress. The steel structure for the main building is mostly complete, and the walls for the gym, commons, and music rooms will be poured soon. As the work has moved closer to the existing building, noise and vibration has increased. Students are amazing in their ability to focus during the work, and several teachers have been able to use the construction process in their lessons; speakers from the construction company visited second grade classrooms to talk about the use of different sizes of rock, from silt to large crushed rock, in building the school.
From the pictures below, you can see the shape and location of the new school. Work is still on schedule for our summer 2012 move-in date.
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The view from the front of the school
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The main entrance of the new building |
November 28, 2011
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Work continues to move along at a good pace. Construction is moving closer to the lower building to make room for the new gym, cafeteria (we call it the “Commons,” as it is a multi-purpose space), and music room. Crews are just about finished with the footings and foundations of the main building and are working to get walls and roofs on before winter sets in. We remain on target for our summer move and are looking forward to classes there in 2012.
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November 22, 2011
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By now you have seen steel going up on the main building and the process for pouring footings for the gym has started. In about two weeks, crews will begin pouring the walls for the gym and commons area. The construction will use Insulated Concrete Forms, a relatively new technique that pours concrete between two layers of insulation for the walls. This process is slightly faster than traditional construction and makes a cleaner build for exterior walls.
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November 14th, 2011
Steel Posts and Braces for a First Floor Wall
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The Elevator Shaft
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The Geothermal Heating Pipes Before they are Buried
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November 8th, 2011
First Floor going in! The concrete will be poured over this structure and will connect to the foundation being poured next to it. |
November 1, 2011
Steel Structure that will support the first floor
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Forms for the retaining wall as viewed from the lower building
October 17, 2011
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Aerial View of Construction Site
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Setting forms for basement walls
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Basement walls and geothermal plumbing installation
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