Construction Notebook

El Capitan High School this month has opened its new $7.5 million, six-building Agricultural Complex.

The 2-acre complex includes a greenhouse, an animal birthing house, wash areas and two arenas. The complex also features two barns to house chickens, pigs, sheep, goats and steers.

The complex will cater to Future Farmers of America (FFA) students as part of the district's Career Technical Education plan.

Modernization of the original agricultural building now provides learning space for new classrooms, a shop teaching area and a computer lab.

The Proposition H and Proposition U school bonds passed by voters in 2004 and 2008, respectively, funded the project.

The project team includes project manager Gafcon, general contractor Erickson Hall Construction, structural engineer Wiseman + Rohy and architect KTU+A.

The new, two-story building will add 21 classrooms and approximately 50,000 square-feet of learning space for Career Technical Education (CTE) classes, in addition to a new quad.

The building will serve medical science, culinary arts and digital arts students, and provide alternative learning space with two outdoor patios and a large courtyard.

The project team included project manager Gafcon, Inc., construction manager Erickson Hall Construction and architect Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke.

The Health, Exercise Science and Athletics Building (“P” Building) at San Diego City College has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for sustainable and green design by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The $10.6 million renovation, funded by the district's $1.6 billion propositions S and N construction bond programs, was completed in January 2010. It is the 12th SDCCD facility to be LEED certified.

The P Building project involved the major renovation of a two-story concrete gymnasium building originally built in 1964.

Work included interior and exterior demolition, installing new interior partitions and a curtain wall system, new ceilings and roof systems, new plumbing systems and fixtures, new mechanical and electrical systems and fixtures, and new architectural finishes.

The project recycled more than the physical building. The original maple flooring in the gymnasium was carefully removed, restored and re-installed in the new gymnasium.

The modernized facility includes workout rooms, a weight room, locker rooms and classrooms for martial arts, spinning, yoga, kickboxing and more.

It includes a sports training room and 14 faculty/staff offices.

The renovation, designed by gkkworks architects, was honored with the 2008 “Design Visionary Award” by the American Institute of Architects.

The Visionary Award recognizes projects designed but not yet completed, and which demonstrate exemplary design intent.

Currently, the district is on track to obtain 41 LEED certifications, more than any single organization within San Diego County.

These include 12 Gold, 25 Silver and a prestigious LEED Platinum certification awarded to the Miramar College Police Station.

The P Building project team included construction manager O'Connor Construction Management; mechanical engineer Fundament and Associates Inc.; electrical engineer FBA Engineering; structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti Inc.; civil engineer RBF Consulting; landscape architect Wimmer Yamada and Caughey; campus project manager Thomas J. Fine, of JE Moore Consulting; furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) project manager Tricia Hendrickson, of Gafcon Inc.; and Propositions S and N Program Manager Gafcon.