flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

California Legislature expands design-build for schools

School Construction

California Legislature expands design-build for schools

Also okays design-build for public works projects over $1 million

 


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | September 11, 2015
California Legislature expands design-build for schools

Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, Calif. Photo: Carol Highsmith/Wikimedia Commons

The California Legislature recently passed AB 1358 authorizing school districts, until 2025, to procure design-build contracts for public works projects in excess of $1 million. 

The bill also authorizes school districts to award design-build contracts to either the low bid or the best value bidder. Gov. Jerry Brown, who has signed two design-build friendly bills that have been sent to his desk this session, will now review the proposal.

Existing law allowed school districts to use design-build until 2020 for projects exceeding $2.5 million. “It is a big win for local school districts and taxpayers,” said DBIA’s Director of State/Local Legislative Affairs, Richard Thomas. “Passage of AB 1358 ends the arbitrary threshold on small design-build projects, saving local governments time and money in delivery of their projects.” 

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

Hillside school sports exciting shape

An education facility for 1,200 students and 300 teachers will grace a hillside in the Faroe Islands town of Torshavn. The 19,200-sm Faroe Islands Education Centre, designed by Copenhagen-based Bjarke Ingels Group, will have a panoramic view overlooking the sea, mountains, and harbor. The building's vortex shape radiates toward its surroundings while drawing attention to the center of the school.

| Aug 11, 2010

New Union City school to use remnants from old building

With 35 classrooms, a media center, science labs, and music rooms, Columbus Elementary School #3 in Union City, N.J., is being built on a confined site, so designer RSC Architects, in conjunction with HOK, will implement underground parking and a rooftop playground. RSC Architects also salvaged classical porticos from a former school at the site; they will be reused to create dramatic entryways...

| Aug 11, 2010

High-density planning allows abundant open space

Gilroy Unified School District's new Christopher High School in California opened its first phase this fall. The 1,800-student, 231,000-sf facility was designed with a high-density site plan that allows for both on-site sports fields and undeveloped open space. BCA Architects of Fremont, Calif., with Gilbane Building Companies as CM, collaborated with numerous user groups to plan the two-story,...

| Aug 11, 2010

And the world's tallest building is…

At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.

| Aug 11, 2010

Courtyard connects new and remodeled schools

Good Fulton & Farrell Architects of Dallas designed a major expansion and renovation at the Dallas Academy in Texas. The 22,900-sf addition serves as the school’s new front door and includes a library, student assembly area, cafeteria, seven classrooms, and administrative offices. The school’s existing 14,560-sf building was renovated to accommodate a lower school component, and...

| Aug 11, 2010

Connecticut high school gets a expansion and renovation

The Morganti Group, Danbury, Conn., is managing the construction of a $41 million addition and renovation project at Newtown (Conn.) High School. Designed by Fletcher Thompson, Shelton, Conn., the project consists of a 70,000-sf addition and 30,000 sf of renovations to the gymnasium and interior spaces.

| Aug 11, 2010

School district plans net-zero building

Camas (Wash.) School District is planning to utilize one of three energy sources—photovoltaics, wind turbine, or geothermal—to help take its new community high school completely off the grid. The school district commissioned Interface Engineering to explore all three options for the project, which is scheduled to break ground in August.

| Aug 11, 2010

LA high school takes design cue from historic Mexican architecture

The Los Angeles Unified School District recently opened the $75 million Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center, a high school in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, near Little Tokyo. Designed by Nadel Architects in a joint venture with Barrio Planners Inc., the 114,000-sf school is vertically integrated, allowing the campus to fit on a compact, six-acre site.

| Aug 11, 2010

Nursing home turned charter school opens in Dorchester, Mass.

Cambridge, Mass.-based HMFH Architects spearheaded the design for the conversion of a former nursing home in Dorchester, Mass., to learning and community space for the Neighborhood House Charter School. The pre-K—8 school has two classrooms for each elementary grade level, clusters of middle school classrooms, a cafeteria, media center, and art, computer, music and science classrooms.

| Aug 11, 2010

Modest recession for education construction

Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

K-12 Schools

New K-12 STEM center hosts robotics learning, competitions in Houston suburb

A new K-12 STEM Center in a Houston suburb is the venue for robotics learning and competitions along with education about other STEM subjects. An unused storage building was transformed into a lively space for students to immerse themselves in STEM subjects. Located in Texas City, the ISD Marathon STEM and Robotics Center is the first of its kind in the district. 


Student Housing

The University of Michigan addresses a decades-long student housing shortage with a new housing-dining facility

The University of Michigan has faced a decades-long shortage of on-campus student housing. In a couple of years, the situation should significantly improve with the addition of a new residential community on Central Campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. The University of Michigan has engaged American Campus Communities in a public-private partnership to lead the development of the environmentally sustainable living-learning student community.



Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021