Project: Bay City Junior High
>>> The new 143,600 square foot Bay City Junior High School enrolls approximately 800 students in grades 6-8 and is located about 90 miles southwest of Houston, TX. We were responsible for the supply and installation of over 300,000 utility sized Acme Brick in 3 different colors, 3,000 pieces of RockCast manufactured stone, 110,000 CMU and 190 pieces of cast stone.
The design of the new school combined patterns of brick and RockCast and the use of light and dark colors in varying locations inside and out to provide visual interest. The interior brick pilasters and spandrels in the main hallway and in the library along with the abundance of brick and cast stone in the cafeteria offer durability to these high traffic areas. At the exterior there are over 100 brick and cast stone clad columns at the south and west entries. In contrast, the north entry was designed with a series of tall columns using RockCast, brick and cast stone material to tie into the buildings features that set off the grand entryway. Throughout the site, masonry clad benches can be found in different configurations of RockCast, brick, and cast stone.
The school was designed and built with durability, low maintenance and cost efficiency in mind. There is an existing school and football stadium onsite which meant we had to be mindful of students and events. This was especially critical where the school tied in to the existing school which required CMU modifications to the original structure. The biggest challenge we faced during the construction of this project was the weather. The building site is spread out and the areas we were scheduled to work in simultaneously were spread apart. This meant that we were continually stocking and servicing our employees over large expanses of the site. Constant rain resulted in a perpetual swamp that had to be navigated. Finally, with the non-typical the shape of the building, the spread out work areas and the fast pace of our construction schedule (6 months), detailed coordination and communication with our client was essential.
The Bay City Junior High School is a true example of how multiple masonry materials can be used to achieve a sharp and well-defined project. It provides an attractive and durable facility that will be used by the children in the district for generations.