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
| Sep 6, 2013
U40 Summit featured speaker: Arthur Gensler on how to build a world-class AEC practice
Gensler, founder of the world’s largest architecture firm, will talk about the role of the architect in society, the impact of great design, and the practicalities of starting and running a practice, and will offer advice for today’s young design and construction professionals.
| Sep 4, 2013
Augmented reality: 12 applications for design and construction professionals
Building Design+Construction reached out to AEC professionals who have studied and applied augmented reality and asked them to pinpoint applications that are ripe for the technology. Here’s what they had to offer.
| Sep 4, 2013
Augmented reality goes mainstream: 12 applications for design and construction firms
Thanks to inexpensive mobile devices and increasingly advanced software apps, Building Teams are finally able to bring their BIM models to life on the job site.
| Sep 4, 2013
K-12 school design that pays off for students
More and more educators are being influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach to pedagogy, with its mantra of “environment as the third teacher”—an approach that gives Building Teams a responsibility to pay even closer attention to the special needs of today’s schools.
| Sep 4, 2013
Smart building technology: Talking results at the BUILDINGChicago/ Greening the Heartland show
Recent advancements in technology are allowing owners to connect with facilities as never before, leveraging existing automation systems to achieve cost-effective energy improvements. This BUILDINGChicago presentation will feature Procter & Gamble’s smart building management program.
| Sep 4, 2013
Last chance to pre-register for BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland Conference at 20% savings
Attendees of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland Expo and Conference can still save 20% off the at-site registration fee by registering online in these final days before the event opens on September 9 and concludes on September 11.
| Sep 3, 2013
'School in a box' project will place school in San Diego public library
Thinking outside the box, LPA Inc. is designing a school inside a box. With an emphasis on three E’s—Engage, Educate, and Empower—e3 Civic High is now being constructed on the sixth and seventh floors of a public library in downtown San Diego. Library patrons will be able to see into the school via glass elevators, but will not have physical access to the school.
| Sep 3, 2013
Delinquency rate for commercial real estate loans at lowest level in three years
The delinquency rate for US commercial real estate loans in CMBS dropped for the third straight month to 8.38%. This represents a 10-basis-point drop since July's reading and a 175-basis-point improvement from a year ago.
| Sep 3, 2013
EDGE studio, GBBN announce merger
GBBN Architects and EDGE studio of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are very pleased to announce the merger of their firms under GBBN Architects effective September 1, 2013.
| Sep 3, 2013
Jon Pettit (1952-2013) - DLR Group Managing Principal
Jonathan (Jon) E. Pettit, AIA, died August 19, 2013 in Seattle following treatment for cancer. He was 61. Pettit was a DLR Group managing principal and practiced for his entire professional career with DLR Group.
