FHP Tectonics Corp, New Orleans, will start construction in June on a $26.5 million school in New Orleans.

Image courtesy FHP Tectonics

The $26.5-million Morris Jeff Community School was designed by the joint venture of VergesRome Architects and Fanning Howey.

The new Morris Jeff Community School is being funded by State of Louisiana Recovery School District and was designed by the joint venture of VergesRome Architects and Fanning Howey, both of New Orleans.

The three-story building will be constructed in accordance with the Educational Specifications for PK-8 schools with 35 teaching stations and a total area of 108,000 square feet. It will sit on a compact 2.2-acre site and was designed to accommodate 21,000 square feet of play space.

Rick Lord, senior project manager for FHP Tectonics Corp, says the contractor recently constructed a number of schools for the Recovery School District. "The basic design principles are typically the same for each school but there are small changes depending on the architect and site," says Lord.

The building will feature a gymnasium, a central elevator, locker commons on the third floor, an administration area and a kitchen. "Nosier" activities have been zoned away from the quieter academic areas and the mechanical room will be situated on the second floor.

Lord says interior walls will consist of a combination of concrete masonry units and steel studs with gypsum boards. Exterior walls will be constructed of brick masonry designed to fit within the urban fabric of the area.

The school is being built with a FEMA Advisory Base Flood Elevation of 3-ft above the highest existing adjacent grades.

Work is scheduled to begin on June 3 with an estimated completion date in mid-August 2014.