Fairfax High School — Addition & Renovation
Fairfax, VA
By: Greg McHugh, Project Manager
On Friday, August 24th, 2007 Grunley Construction successfully completed Phases 3 & 4 at Fairfax High School. This was the final turnover date scheduled for the project, and Grunley met the deadline as planned. These final phases marked the end of the project which has spanned 34 months and 16 phases. On many phases Grunley turned over completed space ahead of the contract schedule to meet the schools needs. The two story addition and the school's main entrance (pictured above) was completed six month’s ahead of schedule, one year to the day from when Grunley started the area.
The Fairfax High School Project consisted of the renovation of 350,000 SF of existing school space, the construction of three new additions totaling 73,000 SF, and extensive sitework.
Renovation Work
The renovation portion of the contract updated 11 areas of the school building:
- Five of the areas were classroom space.
- The remaining spaces were made up of athletic locker rooms (shown above), the main gym, cafeteria, auditorium, and an auto shop.
The renovated spaces received all new architectural attributes, a new mechanical system, wet and dry pipe sprinkler systems, and electrical service including fire alarm, tele/data, master clock, intercom, and security systems. The design also called for new ductwork in reconfigured areas and the re-use of existing ductwork elsewhere. In addition, six gang restrooms were redesigned, and numerous individual staff restrooms were installed.
New Additions
The first new addition built was a one-story 8,000 SF space consisting of seven new classrooms. This new addition was one of the architectural highlights of the building consisting of a two story-light monitor and curtain wall system at the main entrance.
The Second addition built was a 24,000 SF science wing, consisting of 12 laboratory spaces, and teachers offices. The labs all contain science casework with chemical resistant epoxy countertops.
The final addition is the
two story addition at the front of the school which will serve as the new main entrance to the building. It is a 41,000 SF addition which contains all the administrative offices of the school, as well
as the new media center, and library space. This addition contains an extensive curtain wall system, and ornate finishes throughout the main lobby (shown right) consisting of new terrazzo, split face, and ground face CMU block.
Sitework
Grunley created a new layout for the parking area, and entrance for cars and buses. New parking spaces and parking lot site lights were installed. As each phase was complete, Grunley performed the associated landscaping to include new seed, sod, trees, and entrance sidewalks.
Summary
The success of this project can be directly related to Grunley’s onsite field staff, and superintendents who made every effort to keep this job on schedule, while maintaining a safe jobsite for both students, teachers, and construction personnel.
Date Posted: September 25, 2007