Obstacles upon the Construction of Redding School of Art - Article Example

Obstacles Encountered During the Construction of Redding School of Art Introduction Redding School of Art (RSA) is a kindergarten to eighth grade visual and performing arts school in the Redding community of California. The school was previously split between two locations before moving to its newly built facility. The new location for RSA was expected to be ready for the 2010/2011 school year. However, there were a number of setbacks that prevented that from happening and so the facility was not ready until the end of August 2011. The $27 million project was funded by the McConnell Foundation and designed by Trilogy Architecture. The project was managed by Gifford Construction while Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer, Inc provided civil engineering services. The size of the facility which was built to facilitate education of 400 children from kindergarten to eighth grade is 83,000 square foot. According to Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer, Inc (n.d.) the civil engineers on the project, the aim of the project is to enhance the learning environment, promote a better health of the students, teachers and other staff members, and meet the requirements for LEED platinum status and the creation of an eco-education tool. While giving due respect to the natural environment and aesthetics of the site the project was also aimed at minimizing the negative impacts. With this in mind it involved setting up facilities to allow for geothermal heating and cooling, measures to control the quality of storm water, and rain water storage that would facilitate landscape irrigation. Obstacles associated with the construction project The facility was successfully completed in August for the start of the 2011/2012 school year. However, a number of obstacles were encountered during its construction. They include: obtaining leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification and getting a professional to sign of on an indoor corkscrew slide. Residents and media concern were also raised about certain issues including access roads, dust problem, the impact of the increased traffic and the increase in the number of persons accessing the community. The non-existence of a flagpole and the stripe and stars flag on the compound was also a major issue in the media. Trilogy (2010) indicates that RSA was created with the three basic ideals of teaching others, sharing itself and inspiring all. According to Theimer (qtd in Corbelli 2010) of Trilogy Architecture, the difficulty in getting the facility LEED certified is a significant issue. The process started in 2009 and was not completed until 2011. A number of problems were encountered in filling out the form as the forms did not have the capability of being filled out online. Theimer (qtd. in Arthur 2011) indicates that there were also challenges in meeting the deadline although there were no major glitches. Finding someone who could inspect and give a sign of approval for the indoor corkscrew slide was rather challenging because there are not many persons who are qualified to inspect slides. However, McCurdy (qtd in Arthur 2011) the project manager representing Gifford Construction indicated that in order to slow down the slide one of the safety measures employed entailed the addition of a certain type of material at the bottom. Another precautionary measure was to ensure that the children received permission to use it. This was facilitated by providing the teachers with keys in order to provide access to children when they wanted to use it. This meant that it could be effectively monitored as teachers would be aware of when it is in use. The media (Record Searchlight) indicates that despite the positives at RSA, the facility did not have a flagpole. This had the community of Shasta County where the school is located fuming (Record Searchlight 2011). Accordingly, the editorial indicates that Record Searchlight has been alerted by a number of correspondents that RSA does not fly the American (stripes and stars) flag because it may be considered offensive by some persons. This rumor was confirmed in a letter to the editor of Record Searchlight from Rhonda Hull - the county Board of Education trustee who indicated that she was appalled by the fact that the flag was missing. However, the co-director of the school – Margaret Johnson in a response to the concerns cleared the air when she indicated that RSA will indeed have a flag but the Girls Scout troops have asked to sponsor the flagpole. The schools administrators thought that this was a good gesture as it would be more meaningful if students raised the funds and dedicated the pole. It was also pointed out that construction is still in progress as the equipment was still on the site and the fact that a location was yet to be identified for the flag was also a factor. However, this matter that was being worked out with architects to ensure that the flagpole was placed at the best location possible. According to the Redding Planning Commission (2008) there were concerns from persons in the community in which the school was being constructed. These included access to the facility during construction and after construction. Some residents on Gibraltar Road were concerned that the school would add more traffic to Shasta View Drive and that Moss Way should be considered as the primary exit. Property owners north of the project were approached and they indicated their willingness to give up the easement down Gibraltar Road to Moss Way. A total of five property owners executed the agreement to give up easements. In return for their cooperation McConnell Foundation agreed to the paving of Gibraltar Road. At the date of the meeting with the Redding Planning Commission only one of the five property owners was yet to sign the agreement. Additionally, a number of residents were removed from Moss Way in order to facilitate the development. The residents of Roseland Street also had some concerns. This time it was the dust nuisance which was related to the construction of the facility. The developer indicated a willingness to implement the necessary mitigations to ensure that the air quality did not deteriorate based on their commitment to an eco-friendly construction process. Residents were also concerned about the impact of over 400 students on the neighborhood. However, they were consoled by the fact that the right to access the property would be preserved and only those persons who had legitimate business on the school compound would be allowed to access the area. Conclusion It is very important that matters like these are amicably resolved as they appeared to have been. If this did not happen then further delays would have been possible and this would have further implications for cost. All parties involved in the project appeared to have acted professionally and the residents and other beneficiaries appeared to be very pleased with the outcome. Works Cited Arthur, Damon. Redding School of the Arts gets finishing touches; campus features green-energy design. 11 Aug 2011 Web 12 Nov 2011 Corbelli, Joshua. Redding School of Arts, Part 2: Kid-size Doors, a Slide Indoors. 16 Aug 2010 Web 11 Nov 2011 Record Searchlight. Editorial: Where's the flag at RSA? Banner shall yet wave. 8 Sept 2011 Web 12 Nov 2011 Redding Planning Commission. Minutes of Meeting. 8 Jul 2008 Web 12 Nov 2011 Sharrah Dunlap Sawyer, Inc. Public Facility Projects. Web 12 Nov 2011 Trilogy. Redding School of Arts. January 2010 Web 12 Nov 2011 Read More