At 5:41 p.m. CDT on Sunday, May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado touched down in Joplin, Mo. In the next 31 minutes, the mile-wide, multiple-vortex tornado, with winds up to 250 mph, killed 158, injured 990, and destroyed two thousand buildings, including Joplin High and nine other schools.
Two days later, Dr. C. J. Huff, Joplin Schools Superintendent, declared that school would open as scheduled on August 17. On May 24, the Building Team of DLR Group, Corner Greer Associates, Crocker Consulting Engineers, and Crossland Construction was tasked with creating an interim high school from the rubble of Joplin High.
PROJECT SUMMARY
JOPLIN INTERIM HIGH SCHOOL
Joplin, Mo.Building Team
Submitting firms: DLR Group (architect, educational planner) and Corner Greer Associates (AOR)
Owner: Joplin (Mo.) Schools
Electrical engineer: Crocker Consulting Engineers, Inc.
General contractor: Crossland ConstructionGeneral Information
Size: 96,000 sf
Construction cost: $5,500,000
Construction time: June 2011 to August 2011
Delivery method: Design-build
One of the few options open to the Building Team was an abandoned big-box retail space in the local mall. The school district quickly closed the deal on the lease, and design began on June 1. Twenty-four hours later, the team had a working Revit BIM model of the 96,000-sf structure that allowed Crossland to start ordering materials. The 3D model enabled the designers to keep working on construction documents, while at the same time presenting rendered images of interior spaces to school officials for approval.
Fifty-five business days after getting the go-ahead, the Building Team delivered a fully functional high school for 1,200 students. Joplin Interim High School opened on schedule August 17, 2011. +
Related Stories
Architects | Jan 9, 2020
AIA selects recipients for the 2020 Regional & Urban Design Awards
The 2020 Regional & Urban Design program recognizes the best in urban design, regional and city planning and community development.
Building Technology | Jan 7, 2020
Tariff whiplash for bifacial solar modules
Bifacial solar systems offer many advantages over traditional systems.
Sponsored | HVAC | Jan 6, 2020
Maximize Energy Efficiency in Class A Office Buildings With Modern Building Systems
Energy-efficient building design starts with the building envelope, but the building systems have a tremendous impact on energy use as well.
Life of an Architect Podcast | Jan 6, 2020
5 most popular Life of an Architect podcast episodes of 2019
Architects Bob Borson, FAIA, and Andrew Hawkins, AIA, LEED AP, produced 25 episodes of the Life of an Architect podcast in 2019. Here are the five most popular episodes of Life of an Architect based on the number of downloads.
Architects | Jan 6, 2020
Merger expands HED’s presence in SoCal
Puchlik Design Associates, its new addition, specializes in healthcare design.
Steel Buildings | Jan 3, 2020
5 reasons to enter the $20,000 Forge Prize
Calling all emerging architects. Don’t miss out on your chance to enter the $20,000 Forge Prize. Submissions for Stage 1 judging are due January 15.
GIANTS 19 PREMIUM | Dec 23, 2019
Top 90 Sports Facilities Architecture Firms for 2019
Populous, HKS, HOK, Gensler, and HNTB top the rankings of the nation's largest sports facilities sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
| Dec 18, 2019
Reconsidering construction robotics
After decades when experts predicted that robots would become more prevalent on construction sites, it would appear that the industry has finally reached that point where necessity, aspiration, and investment are colliding.
75 Top Building Products | Dec 16, 2019
Top Window and Door Products for 2019
Pella’s Rolscreen retractable screen and NanaWall’s HSW single-track sliding glass wall are among the 16 window and door products to make Building Design+Construction’s 2019 101 Top Products report.
75 Top Building Products | Dec 16, 2019
Top Structural Products for 2019
Inpro’s Fireline 140 fire barrier and Owens Corning’s Foamglas cellular glass insulation are among the 10 structural products to make Building Design+Construction's 2019 101 Top Products report.
