In the wake of natural disasters and school shooting incidents, education professionals across the country are looking for innovative ways to better protect children while they learn. A new building approach from Salt Lake City, Utah-based Leland A. Gray Architects is designed to contribute to that goal.
The firm is adapting the concrete thinshell structural approach for K-12 schools in Utah, according to a report by KSL.
The domed building, which the architect calls "virtually indestructible," uses an air-formed thin-shell concrete dome, along with a concrete stem wall. The system was created for assembly buildings such as schools, churches, and arenas, but some school disctricts are finding that it works well for K-12 school buildings, as well.
To build one of these structures, the roofing membrane is formed into a dome shape with a 31-ounce PVC material. A concrete ring on the stem wall is attached to an air form, and the membrane is inflated by air pressure to the size of the dome. Then, the underside of the membrane is sprayed with a urethane insulation to a depth of 3 inches over the entire surface of the membrane.
Steel reinforcing bars are then placed in an interlocking pattern across the dome's underside. Finally, according to Leland Gray's website: "The reinforcing steel is built up to 4 feet high around the base of the dome and sprayed with shot-crete. This process continues in 4-foot-wide bands from the base to the top of the dome. The concrete will be 8 to 10 inches thick at the base, tapering to 3 to 4 inches thick at the top."
Schools like this have already been built in Utah and in other places across the country, in part, because they are relatively inexpensive to build and they can save school districts money in utilities.
According to KSL, which did a story on dome schools in Locust Grove, Utah, "both the elementary and the high school in Locust Grove cost $94 a square foot to build. That's a deal, considering the price for school construction in the U.S. ranges from $150-$250 a square foot." In addition, the superintendent of the district told reporters that these buildings cut utility costs by 40%.
Read the full KSL story here.
Check out the video below to see what goes into a concrete thinshell dome, and what one looks like from the inside.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
F&S Partners merges with SmithGroup
F&S Partners, a Dallas architecture firm specializing in the design of educational, recreational, and religious projects, has merged with SmithGroup, a top 10 U.S. architecture/engineering firm. The 40-person office in Dallas will carry the name SmithGroup/F&S.
| Aug 11, 2010
Will Alsop to head up new RMJM studio
Will Alsop, the internationally acclaimed British architect and designer of the Glenwood Waterfront project on the Hudson River, is to turn his attention once again to the U.S. after announcing he is to create a studio called “Will Alsop at RMJM,” as part of the RMJM worldwide architectural firm.
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, WATG top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest hotel design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Hotel Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Dewberry among nation's largest multifamily design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Multifamily Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit /giants
| Aug 11, 2010
USGBC’s Greenbuild 2009 brings global ideas to local main streets
Save the planet with indigenous knowledge. Make permanent water part of your life. Dive deep water for clues to environmental success. Connect site selection to successful creative concepting. Explore the unknown with Discovery Channel’s best known guide. These are but a few of the big ideas participants can connect to at USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, taking place on November 11-13, 2009 in Phoenix, Ariz.
| Aug 11, 2010
Goettsch Partners wins design competition for Soochow Securities HQ in China
Goettsch Partners (GP) has been selected as the winning firm in the competition to design the Soochow Securities Headquarters, the new office and stock exchange building for Soochow Securities Co. Ltd. The 21-story, 441,300-square-foot project includes 344,400 square feet of office space, an 86,100-square-foot stock exchange, meeting rooms, classrooms, a cafeteria, and underground parking for 400 cars and 800 bicycles.
| Aug 11, 2010
RMJM unveils design details for $1B green development in Turkey
International architecture company RMJM today announced details of the $1 billion Varyap Meridian development it is designing in Istanbul’s new residential and business district, which will be one of the "greenest" projects in Turkey. The luxury 372,000-square-meter development on a site totalling 107,000 square meters will be located in the Atasehir district of Istanbul, which the Turkish government intends to transform into the country’s new financial district and business center.
