Tocomo Lumbermen'Get Off the Dime'to lloke Firm Bid for Wood in Those Profitoble School Jobs

A sihool design forum sponsored by the Tacoma, Washington, Lumbermen's Club was attended by 24O architects, school officials, and civic leaders recently and helped make the entire region more conscious of the potentials of wood in school design.

With their eye on the tremendous school building program ahead, the lumbermen chose the forum idea as the 6est way to acquaint specifiers, designers, educators, and taxpayers with the practical use of wood in school construction. Arrangements, which had been carefully planned over a period of three months, were climaxed on February 12 with the forum on "Schools Within Reason-The Logic of Wood in Modern School Design."

Several other lumber groups, noting the success of the Tacoma e.ffort, are planning similar school design meetings. The purpose of the Tacoma forum was to emphasize that the common-sense use of wood in school construction produces safe, durable schools and helps to squeeze tomorrow's school into today's budget.

Highlights of the meeting were speeches by Architect Robert Billsbrough Price, A.I.A. ; Assistant Superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools James Hopkins; and Washing-

Maintenance of the schools is another problem. Hopkins noted that Tacoma spends approximately 4/o of its school district budget on maintenance of the school plant each year. He said such modern materials as Texture OneEleven grooved fir plywood siding, for instance, are of great value in lowering maintenance costs.

Architect Price told the meeting that although he was speaking on the subject of wood in school ,construction, his firm had also designed schools in masonry, concrete and steel. He said, "Today, I'm speaking as an architect, and my only interest is in obtaining the most for the least for my client." Pointing out that few schools are made entirely of one material, Price said a wood school is also a concrete, masonry and steel school.

The architect added that wood had the following advantages in school construction: It is readily available, locally produced, competitilely manufactured and sold, durable under all types of conditions, attractive in appearance, and field proven ton State Superintendent of Public Instruction Lloyd Andrews.

Turning to the lumbermen, Price said, "Gentlemen, you have only yourselves to blaine for your untapped markets. It has taken outsiders to make you aware of the potentials of your product."

Price said, "Giving credit where credit is due, the Douglas Fir Plywood Aisociation is to be commended on its research program, both for the new applications and its continuing engineering studies which are available to all architects and engineers for the asking."

Price concluded his talk by saying, "To all of you concerned with schools: investigate wood construction. f befieve you will find that you can get the most for the least."

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Andrews, the featured speaker, produced some eye-opening statistics in an after-dinner address. Andrews told his listeners that during his four years in office, the Washington Sta_te school population between grades one and twelve would increase from 500,000 to 595,000.

Although the speakers emphasized the advantages of one-story wood schools, they also warned that the lumber industry must increase its research, competition, and promotion if it is to gain on non-wood products in the field of school construction.

The speakers presented some eye-opening statistics. This year, L.2 million more children are in U.S. public, elementary and secondary schools than were enrolled last year. By 1960, we may expect another 4 million additional youngsters. -

Educator Hopkins commended the current trend toward one-story school design. He noted that in Tacoma it has been necessary to ad'd 25/o to the school plant in the-last three years, lnd the city will undoubtedly need 30 to 40 claisrooms per year. Hopkins mentioned several new one-storv Tacoma schools which are built of wood and plywood and said, "These schools are safe schools. Freed ir6m the need to pile story on story, they are planned to provide perfect saflty to the o..op"tttt fro-m fire and earthquakes and promote pleasing aesthetic values for the young scholars and their teachers.

"These schools are reasonably priced, and will remain useful structures far beyond the time when they will be outmoded by the changing needs of the community."

Describing the tremendous school construction potential for wood products, Andrews added, "The fact which must be considered by you, the suppliers of building materials, is that when our piesent fifth grade becomes a senior class, our high school enrollment will double the current high school inrollment and we will need almost double the present high school facilities."

Wind-up speaker for the forum was Arnold Koutonen, manager of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Compall l$wood-division. Koutonen accepted the challenge for the forest products industry and said the industry is pledged to "carry the fight for wood to the entire state and the rest of the nation, too."

Koutonen told his audience they should encourage the use of the best means and materials in the schools, serve on school boards, and study all programs concerning the schools'

Additional Points

Other significant points brought out by the speakers and by display boards at the meeting:

- 1. Dozens of modern one-story wood schools recently constructed in the Northwest cost from $9 to $1 1 per square foot, rvell under the state average of $13.80 per square foot-

2. The low basic cost of wood structures permits many bonus items such as additional classrooms, sidewalks, lockers, dressing' rooms, and increased teacher's salaries.

3. The uie of wood framing with frr plywood sheathing and roof decking gives diaphragm strength to the entire school structure for resistance to earthquake and wind storm.

4. Wood is especially adaptable to the current architec-