Foresight and teamwork are helping ensure the $70 million Oswego East High School is ready for students on Aug. 1.

The project in Oswego, Ill., was awarded in December 2002, and the timing immediately presented a problem, said William Callahan, executive vice president of Hickory Hills, Ill.-based Henry Bros. Co., the project's construction manager.

A substantial amount of grading was required for the 102-acre site, yet the onset of winter portended a freezing ground. The clay topsoil was to be stripped, and the site - once a field harvested for crops - needed to be leveled to provide a bench to seat the 435,000-sq.-ft. structure.

Delaying sitework until after the winter was out of the question because of the potential for heavy spring rains, Callahan said. The one or two weeks normally required for grading could have stretched into four to six weeks during a wet spring. And in the event of rains, a large amount of stone would have been laid on the site to speed up work, adding to the cost.

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A window of about 10 to 12 days was available for grading in early December, and the decision was made to commence work immediately. An armada of equipment "attacked" the site, and the weather held up.

About 6 to 12 in. of topsoil were removed, and balancing was done. Hills that ranged between 2 and 3 ft. were scraped away, and fill that varied between 5 and 6 ft. was added to low areas.

Overall, 95,000 cu. yds. of material were moved, said Matt Blocker, controller with Oswego-based G.A. Blocker Grading.

"When spring finally broke in March 2003, we were able to progress immediately with the footings and the foundations, rather than by being delayed by the building of the bench," Callahan said.

Temporary roads and a parking lot were also built in December. And, a bid package was developed to incorporate the remaining sitework elements, such as the athletic fields and landscaping.

A Structural Change

The schedule remained a concern, even with the adroitness exhibited on the project's grading.

The academic wing on the north was a crucial project element primarily because enrollment in Oswego Community Unit School District 308 is growing rapidly, Callahan said. Indeed, the district about 35 to 40 mi. southwest of Chicago is reportedly one of the fastest growing in the nation.

The structural support for the academic spaces - areas E, F and G - was changed to be primarily masonry, said Michael Benstent, senior project manager with Henry. Area D, a natatorium, is also supported with masonry.

The switch sidestepped the long lead time sometimes needed for structural steel, the material originally intended to hold up those areas.

In addition, the academic area's structural bid package was awarded four weeks ahead of the rest of the building. "That way, we were able to start on the foundations, structure and the masonry ahead of the completion of the entire design package," he added.

Steel was retained as the structural support for the remainder of the building, and 2,113 tons of steel were used in the building.

Getting a Schooling

A $150 million referendum was approved in November 2002 to fund Oswego East, and the balance will be used for other district projects.

The high school will have the capacity for 2,400 students, though about 700 freshmen and sophomores will make up the first class. There are approximately 340 rooms in the mostly three-story school.

A number of spaces were incorporated in the design to enrich the high school's academic offerings and make it welcoming to the public, said Ed Skahan, partner and vice president with Batavia, Ill.-based Kluber, Skahan + Associates Inc., the architect on the project.

Area B, which is devoted to performing arts, will hold spaces on the school's east end that include choir and practice rooms and an auditorium with capacity for 1,100 people, balcony and stage. A 38-ft.-long, 26-ft.-wide hangar door that forms the stage's eastern wall will open to an outdoor amphitheater.

"The back of the stage becomes the front of the stage," added Howard Mulford, field superintendent with Henry.

An 80-ft.-high masonry tower will rise above the stage and incorporate the fly gallery, professional-level rigging and equipment. "A lot of colleges would give their right arm for a center like that," Mulford added.

Area A, a 10,575-sq.-ft. space to the west of B, will hold the commons areas, such as the kitchen and cafeteria. About 1,300 people can sit under an approximately 148-ft.-long, 140-ft.-wide skylight held up with 55 steel trusses, each custom made.

A visit was made to the fabricating plant in Jackson, Miss., to inspect the fabricating process for the trusses and convey the urgency of the project, Mulford said.

"The building in Jackson was a quarter mile long and almost a quarter mile wide," he added.

The athletic facilities in Area C west of A will be sizable.

C will hold three basketball courts, with a seating capacity for 2,800 people in the main gymnasium; a varsity sports complex, including wrestling, fitness room, dance rooms and related classrooms; suspended five-lane running track; and 10 locker rooms.

The natatorium on the school's western edge will include a 10-lane pool, diving well and seating for 500 spectators.

A second 80-ft.-tall tower near the school's west end will mirror the one rising above the stage and hold the mechanical systems.

Bidding for a 13,000-sq.-ft. annex building to hold vocational programs will occur this month.

Managing Deliveries, Sequence

Coordination was important due in part to the project's size and complexity.

More than 1.4 million pieces of masonry on the interior and exterior form the building, said Jeff Roers, project manager with Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Esche & Lee, a joint-venture member of the masonry team.

An average of four to six semitrailers of mortar and grout and eight to 10 semitrailers of block and brick were received each day during the summer, Benstent said.

Sequencing the construction was important.

Openings were left in areas C and B to make sure masonry could be brought in to erect the towers, Mulford said. Also, the procurement of the mechanical units was carefully scheduled, and temporary, oversized openings in the west tower ensured the units could be lifted and seated.

A low-temperature air system is expected to realize cost savings for the school district, said John Kluber, mechanical engineer with project architect.

Traditionally, chillers produce 45-degree water so air expelled from coils in air-handling units is 55 degrees. With a low-temperature system, chillers deliver water at 38 degrees to produce air at 47 degrees.

"That allows us to downsize the air-handling equipment and ductwork," Kluber added.

The air-handling units also have heat pipes to recover heat, rather than exhausting it, for environmental benefits.

Pleasing to the Public

A number of design elements were incorporated into the building to make it pleasing to the public.

Three bands of architectural brick cladding the exterior - dark brown, medium brown and tan - will encourage onlookers to view the building horizontally, and tall and thin windows will goad them to look at it vertically, architect Skahan said.

In the natatorium, lights in the pool will be aimed so spectators can avoid glare.
Clerestory windows were incorporated above seating, rather than across from it, also to cut glare.

An acoustical consultant was brought it to provide advice on sound deadening - an important idea for a learning environment, Skahan said. One idea incorporated in the school was to design the auditorium with a double-wide wall filled with sand to squelch sound.

Useful Source

See additional progress photos and find out about plans for Oswego East High School by visiting www.oswego308.org/oehs/ on the Internet.

"When spring finally broke in March 2003, we were able to progress immediately with the footings and the foundations, rather than by being delayed by the building of the bench."