How Char-Meck cut space waste in its high schools
I mentioned in an earlier post that I would elaborate on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' proposal to build two high schools for $50.6 million each (as listed on a 2007 bond to be held in November). The context: Guilford County Schools is looking at building an airport-area high school costing in the mid-$70 million to $88 million range. The latest school built -- Northern High -- will cost about $54 million.
OK, here's the rundown, according to Mike Raible, executive director for facilities planning and real estate: The schools would actually cost $53.6 million each, not including the price of land (the $3 million in design fees comes from certificates of participation). The schools would accommodate about 2,000 students, have 100 classrooms and be about 260,000 square feet. The building and site costs alone for the schools would total about $36.9 million.
What is interesting about these schools is that they will accommodate roughly the same number of students that two recently-opened Mecklenburg high schools could at 307,000 square feet. Building and site costs alone for Mallard Creek High School and Ardrey Kell High School were $46 million and $36.6 million, respectively.
So how did CMS get the square footage and costs down? It held a public competition last fall between three architectural firms. The firms (selected from an original list of 19) spontaneously designed the high schools over the course of a week, Raible said.
"They walked in with nothing," Raible said.
In the end, the district was able to cut space out of its previous prototypes by about 15 percent. Raible says space was saved in areas like the corridors. More than 100 people, including school administrators and educators, participated in the process. On the last day, firms attached cost estimates to their designs.
Raible indicated that although people appreciate the district's effort to economize, there is a fine line between efficient and cheap.
"The problem is really not to do a cheap building," he said. "I think there's a point at which you can economize. But you can't go from the sublime to the ridiculous."
Comments (4)
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This is the sort of mindset that can change someone’s mind to vote in favor of a bond. The "this is how it is, take it or like it"" attitude of Guilford County schools is ignorant and condescending.
Posted on October 4, 2007 9:19 PM
Let's have some fun with facts.
Char-Meck High School:
Cost = $53,600,000
Sq.Ft. = 260,000
Student Capacity = 2,000
Sq.Ft. per Student = 130
Cost per Student = $26,800
Airport High:
Cost = $77,100,000 (Or maybe $88,000,000)
Sq.Ft. = 270,000
Student Capacity = 1,200
Sq.Ft. per Student = 225
Cost per Student = $64,250 (or maybe $73,333)
What's wrong with this picture?
Posted on October 5, 2007 2:24 PM
Morgan:
A design competition would be a great idea. It's hard to tell from the post, however, whether the Charlotte schools were good or bad values. One could easily imagine making hallways "too" narrow, so much so that passage between classes or during emergencies could be impacted. Nevertheless, judges in a competition could evaluate trade-offs in costs and features.
Posted on October 5, 2007 2:31 PM
This is valuable information. I hope that more information like this gets to the front page of the newspaper. Even back in the Jerry Wiest days an architect told me how un-creative the school system was, when it came to innovative ways to reduce construction costs and improve flexibility of the buildings. Most businesses and individuals try to get the most for their money when building, and competition among architects and builders is usually the way to get it. Different proposals with different prices also focus the school staff and school board on "needs" vs. "wants."
Posted on October 9, 2007 12:28 PM