CORPORATE PARTNER SHOWCASE CORPORATE PARTNER SHOWCASE CORPORATE PARTNER SHOWCASE CORPORATE PARTNER SHOWCASE
Main lobby of basketball arena
New dining area for grades 10–12
New Sandra Meadows Memorial Arena Second floor of new two-story classroom addition
SHW Group Architects Duncanville High School Additions/Renovations After four years and multiple phases of construction, Duncanville High School will be one of the largest high schools in the United States, with 863,137 square feet all under one roof. Located just south of Dallas, the original Duncanville High School was 40 years old. Over the years, the campus had acquired a total of 11 different buildings to serve its gradual growth in grades 10 through 12. A separate 9th grade center was built two miles from the high school, which required students to move back and forth between the two campuses to attend classes as well as participate in arts and athletic programs.
“We needed a 21st century school to support a 21st century curriculum,” says Jerry Cook, superintendent of Duncanville ISD. Though the district struggled with choosing between one large high school and two smaller ones, the decision was actually made by the community. Cook explains, “The community would not support splitting the high school, and the school district must serve its community.” To address the growing enrollment and aging facilities, the decision was made to convert the separate 9th grade campus to a middle school. The 9th grade students would then be relocated to the west end of the existing high school. Next, the plan called for the demolition of most of the high school’s east campus to make room for new instructional space designed to accommodate grades 10 through 12. And finally, the remaining existing facilities would be refurbished to serve athletics, music, and career and technology programs for all students.
24
INSIGHT
Phase One involved the addition of a new ball field; Phase Two involved street construction; and Phase Three covered the upgrade of underground utilities. Phase Four includes a 200,000 square foot, two-story classroom addition and renovation of 340,000 existing square footage. Phase Five includes the addition of 150,000 square feet of athletic areas and renovations of an existing 160,000 square feet. “One of the most critical schedules for the project was completing the new Sandra Meadows Memorial Arena,” says Mike Elmore, project manager for SHW Group Architects. “Duncanville is home to the largest girls’ basketball tournament in Texas, and we had about 10 months to finish construction on the 2,000-seat arena in time for the December 2003 event.”
The new arena was recently recognized as number five in USA TODAY’s list of 10 great places to watch high school basketball. When the $90.3 million project is completed in January 2006, Duncanville High School will open with 3,700 students and an ultimate capacity of 4,000. “We are literally building all the way around the existing school—not one original building surface will be exposed when we finish construction,” observes L. G. White, senior project manager for Hunt Construction Group. The phased design has allowed Duncanville High School to remain operational throughout all construction phases with minimal disruption to the learning environment.