Photo by HB Construction

Best K-12 Project: Sandia High School - Phase I

"The sequence of the shear walls was one of the greatest challenges," says Matthew Mulligan, COO of HB Construction, the general contractor.

The shear walls are designed to have a layer of sheetrock on them before loads are placed above, which caused steel erection and concrete floor construction work on above decks to be staged differently than usual.

The project team overcame this challenge by breaking the building down into zones to allow for steel erection crews to work on the lower levels while framing contractors completed shear wall construction.

Additionally, the installed interior sheetrock had to be weather protected while much of the skin was being completed on the two- and three-story buildings—a considerable challenge considering the area's potential for summer monsoons.

The use of BIM enabled contractors to discover that the mechanical room was designed to be smaller than it needed to be, and to adjust the design accordingly. "We had to increase the mechanical room by 150 sq ft," Mulligan says. "We also had to modify the dimensions of the units and decrease their height to allow for proper duct sizing."

Sandia High School - Phase I

Albuquerque

Key Players

General Contractor HB Construction, Albuquerque

Owner/Developer Albuquerque Public Schools

Lead Design Firm Mahlman Studio Architecture, Albuquerque

Structural Engineer Bacchus Consulting Engineering, Albuquerque

Civil Engineer High Mesa Consulting Group, Albuquerque

MEP Engineer Harmeyer Nellos Engineering Inc., Albuquerque

Electrical Engineer Allied Engineering and Design Inc., Albuquerque

Subcontractors Theco, Corrales, N.M.; Structural Services, Albuquerque; Hannah Plumbing and Heating Co., Albuquerque; Contreras Construction Corp., Tijeras N.M.