Following World War II, many schools in the U.S. were designed like other buildings intended to hold large numbers of people.

“A lot of schools were built on prison floor plans,” said Whitney Hennion, a Vancouver Public Schools project manager and a former professional architect. “It was like they just took the prison floor plan and said, ‘Oh, we’ll make this a classroom.’ You can see it in all the hallways; it’s either a radial plan or a central corridor. It’s kind of depressing.”

Fortunately for educators and students in Vancouver, Washington, postwar schools are beginning to be replaced with money from a $458 million bond measure approved by voters in 2017. One is Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, at 4801 Idaho St. LSW Architects designed a 68,000-square-foot facility that is being built by general contractor Robinson Construction on the same property where the previous structure was demolished.

The main entrance will face the intersection of Idaho Street and Boise Avenue, and the building will be served by two parking lots. Separate drop-off and pickup areas for buses and visitors are expected to improve traffic on adjacent streets.

Unlike a hub-and-spoke or central corridor floor plan of a postwar school, the new two-story King Elementary will have an ‘L’ shape. One wing will hold 26 classrooms, mostly partitioned. The other wing will hold a gymnasium, common areas, administrative offices and community-oriented spaces.

“We’re definitely not a prototype here,” Hennion said. “We want each school to really reflect the community that it’s from. I’m a trained architect and worked in that field for 10 years, so to come over to the owner side and see that expectation or philosophy is really nice, because depending on what district you work for it’s all over the map.”

Along with classrooms and administrative offices, the new building will feature a variety of adaptable spaces that would likely never have been considered when the original building was constructed in 1971. Prominent among them are the commons, which doubles as the cafeteria and also has a low-rise stage for presentations. This space will be able to host many different kinds of events, which fits with design choices for a residential feel rather than an institutional one, both inside and out.

Exterior materials include brick masonry and fiber cement panels. On the inside, vaulted ceilings are intended to let in more daylight, with a two-story gallery space adjacent to the entrance featuring large, spherical LED fixtures able to change color to suit a theme or event.

“It’s going to be a huge shock for (staffers and students) to have so much natural light,” Hennion said.

The old school was basically built around a central library, forcing students to pass through the space to reach classrooms and other areas. The new school’s media center will indeed be prominent, with floor-to-ceiling glass; however, instead of being an obstacle, it will serve a distinct purpose and be comfortably accessible.

“We still wanted the library to be a central focus,” Hennion said. “And (the school) has quite a few events as far as the community coming in, and they do a lot of food-centric family activities, so really the push for this was really to make this a community school and very welcoming to the community.”

Construction is expected to finish this summer, in time for the start of the 2020-21 school year.

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A 7-year-old magnet school in Vancouver, Washington, is finally united.

Previously, Vancouver iTech Preparatory served students in grades 6-8 in one location and students in grades 9-12 in another. But recently operations were consolidated in a new 80,000-square-foot building at 16100 N.E. 50th Ave. Vancouver Public Schools has seen demand for entry in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) school increase, so it prioritized creation of a new building via money from a $458 million bond approved by voters in 2017.

“It’s one of the district’s schools of choice,” said Jack Claros, facilities planner for Vancouver Public Schools. “They didn’t really have a school of their own. The middle school portion was housed at the main district office and then the high school used to be up here at the Clark College building on (Washington State University’s) campus. So this school was built to create an actual school for those students.”

LSW Architects designed the three-story building, which features a slab-on-deck foundation, a structural steel framework, and cross-laminated timber floor panels and ceiling panels. General contractor Robinson Construction began work in September 2018, and substantial completion was achieved in just over 14 months.

This is the third school project for Vancouver Public Schools with cross-laminated timber panels.

“Part of it is the ‘biophilic’ element of wood,” Claros said. “It’s about warming up the space and bringing nature indoors. It just made sense, at least strategically. We placed the panels in areas where it would be visible and kept it exposed.”

The heart of the building is a learning stair that serves as an assembly and event space, an extension of the adjacent cafeteria, and an informal gathering and learning space. A huge flat-screen display faces the learning stair from a second-level balcony with the exposed framing that was included for seismic resilience.

The individual laboratory spaces are many and varied. The new building has science and fabrication labs, a media center, break-out and collaboration spaces, a robotics lab, an art studio and more – all visible through generous glazing.

Finally, exterior materials are dominated by brick masonry and a smattering of metal panels given a wood-like finish.

“I think this building contextually achieves multiple things,” Claros said. “It resides on WSU’s campus, we worked with them as a stakeholder, and the architecture resonates contextually with the campus while maintaining its own integrity through the use of materials.”

Vancouver iTech Preparatory

Owner: Vancouver Public Schools

General contractor: Robinson Construction

Architect: LSW Architects

Planner: BergerABAM

Civil engineer: Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc.

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer: PAE

Structural engineer: KGA Structural Engineers

Landscape architect: PLACE

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Robinson Construction is seeking bids from subcontractors for work on the new Kellogg Middle School in Southeast Portland.

Portland Public Schools closed the former school in 2007; it was demolished this past summer.

Oh Planning + Design, Architecture has designed the new school, which will be built at 3330 S.E. 69th Ave. Plans call for a 108,478-square-foot building, a covered play area, a play field, a new parking lot, a bus drop-off area and an emergency vehicle access road. A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design BD+C: Schools gold rating will be sought for the project.

The new building will be T-shaped, with the crossbar of the T parallel with Powell Boulevard and housing three stories of primarily classroom space. The stem of the T, meanwhile, will house the gym, performing arts and administrative facilities, and common spaces in a single story. The main entry will be located where the two wings meet.

Construction is set to begin this summer, with completion tentatively scheduled for the end of 2020. The new school would then open for the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Bid documents are available at: www.robcon.com/subcontractors/. Prospective bidders can learn more by calling 503-645-8531 or emailing bids@robcon.com. The deadline to submit bids is 2 p.m. on April 16.

Robinson Construction is one of two qualified bidders for the Kellogg Middle School project; the other is Todd Construction.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that a general contractor has not yet been selected for the project.

To find information on this project, or others like it, join the 91��Ƶ Project Center. It’s a searchable and trackable database of thousands of construction projects in the Pacific Northwest. Discover projects ranging from civil transportation work to private multifamily housing, and gain access to all the contact information and project documents you will need to bid on the project. Sign up for a free trial today by contacting Sharlene Richard at 503-802-7252 or SRichard@djcOregon.com.

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General contractor Robinson Construction is seeking bids from subcontractors for all scopes of work involved with a new two-story, 41,000-square-foot building for the Hillsboro School District.

The transportation and support services facility will be located on Northwest Jacobson Road, slightly north of Liberty High School. The ground floor will hold six bus maintenance bays, shops for both maintenance and carpentry, driver-related facilities, and staff meeting rooms. The second floor will hold office space as well as educational space for the new diesel mechanic CTE (career and technical education) program.

Construction is scheduled to begin by June 2019, and finish in September 2020.

BBL Architects designed the project. Cornerstone Management Group is the owner’s representative; Rick Cunningham is the project manager. The project, which has a tentative budget of $18.3 million, is being paid for with money from a $408 million bond approved by voters in 2017.

All questions and bids may be emailed to bids@robcon.com. Prospective bidders also may call 503-844-1340 to learn more. Bids are due by 2 p.m. on March 5.

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Vancouver Public Schools is proceeding with multiple projects following voters’ approval of a massive $458 million bond measure, and at least one of them has work available for subcontractors.

Truman Elementary School, a longtime open-concept facility in Vancouver, Washington, at 4505 N.E. 42nd Ave., is being replaced. Crews will construct a new two-story, 91,115-square-foot building on existing school property, and then demolish old buildings.

General contractor Robinson Construction of Hillsboro, which has frequently worked with the school district, is seeking sub-bids for virtually every scope of work for the project. Construction is expected to begin in January, and then finish in time for the new school to open in fall 2020.

The site work includes construction of stormwater infiltration, basins and planters, site utilities, drives and parking areas, courtyards and pathways, sidewalks, playgrounds and landscaping. Work in the public right of way includes new driveway entrances, pedestrian pavement improvements, curbs, asphalt patching and ADA ramp improvements.

will have a secure entrance and almost 40 classrooms, including two dedicated to special education programming. Break-out spaces will be used for hands-on learning, and other spaces will be dedicated to music, art and creative movement. Plans also call for a secure interior courtyard, a dedicated fitness area, a dedicated family resource center, a large commons area, a learning stairway extending into the library and media center, and a covered play area and playground.

Work will be done in two phases: first, construction of a new school building and site utilities; and second, demolition of existing school buildings, and construction of new parking and landscaping and utilities.

All sub-bids must be submitted to Robinson Construction no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 12. Prospective bidders can learn more by calling 503-645-8531 or sending an email to bids@robcon.com.

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Southwest Washington is abuzz with school construction.

Vancouver Public Schools, for instance, has under way multiple projects being for with money from a $458 million bond measure passed by voters in 2017.

On the Washington State University-Vancouver campus, crews are building new space for iTech Preparatory – a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-focused magnet school that serves students throughout the district. The school, which opened in 2012, has students in grades 6 through 12; middle school pupils currently attend classes in district administration offices while high school students occupy a leased building on the WSU campus.

“We’ve never had a facility where we could house all the grades at one location,” said Todd Horenstein, an assistant superintendent and director of facility support services for Vancouver Public Schools.

The new building will have approximately 80,000 square feet of space over three stories and be able to serve up to 700 students. LSW Architects of Vancouver designed the facility, which is being built by Hillsboro general contractor Robinson Construction.

The project’s budget is around $30 million, Horenstein said. The building is being constructed to Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol, an energy efficiency process with standards roughly akin to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver, he added.

Currently, site work is under way at one end of the iTech Preparatory site. Meanwhile, ironworkers and carpenters are building formwork and installing rebar in preparation for concrete slab foundation and footer pours.

On Northeast 28th Street in Vancouver, ground was broken this past summer on a replacement for Peter S. Ogden Elementary School. LSW Architects and Robinson Construction are handling this project as well.

The two-story building will be wood-framed over slab-on-grade foundations. It will be able to accommodate as many as about 500 students.

Foundation work already is complete. Currently, first-floor walls, both on the interior and exterior, are being built and placed by crews from DSL Framing.

Meanwhile, on MacArthur Boulevard, two schools are being built anew. Marshall Elementary School and McLoughlin Middle School will be constructed as a single two-story structure on open land between existing facilities.

The two schools will be physically connected by a shared kitchen and mechanical space, as well as a media center able to be partitioned. However, each school will function separately, Horenstein said.

LSW Architects designed this project too, but Skanska USA Building is the general contractor for this project. Currently, crews from Tapani Underground, Skanska and Prairie Electric are carrying out site work, underground utility installation and form work for upcoming foundation concrete pours.

Instead of standard steel or wood framing, however, cross-laminated timber structural elements will be used atop a concrete foundation. This will be one of the first educational buildings in the Portland-metro area to feature such construction.

Evergreen Public Schools, another school district in Vancouver, also has projects on tap. Voters in February approved a $695 million bond measure. Numerous construction projects totaling more than $800 million will be completed by 2024, according to the district’s website.

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A new Costco store is on track to arrive in southeast Salem as the anchor of a new commercial development.

Salem planning officials are for the proposed Kuebler Gateway Shopping Center on approximately 20 acres wedged between Kuebler Boulevard and Boone Road. Plans call for construction of a 168,550-square-foot building for Costco Wholesale, along with a retail fueling station with up to 30 pumps and at least four retail shell buildings with a combined floor area of roughly 21,000 square feet. A pair of existing medical office buildings built in 2013 would be left in place on the property’s southwest corner.

Developers aim to provide at least 1,013 motor vehicle parking spaces.

Property ownership is shared by PacTrust and M&T Partners. The developer is Pacific Realty Associates, a Portland firm that provides site selection, design, construction, leasing and property management services.

The developer is working with Seattle-based architecture firm MG2 to carry out site planning. MG2 has over the past 30 years, and even has a warehouse prototype that is constantly updated to meet the company’s needs.

Robinson Construction of Hillsboro will serve as the general contractor.

According to the applicants, project plans represent the culmination of over 12 years of planning. The initial comprehensive plan and zoning change application was submitted in 2006. Most recently, the developers inked a 2015 improvement agreement with the city that saw Kuebler Boulevard widened from Commercial Street to Interstate 5.

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