Performing Arts Center At Murphysboro High School
Enterprise Precast
Enterprise Precast Concrete and Jacia Phillips l Arch Photo KC
Location:
Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186
Murphysboro, Ill.
Cost:
Total Project Cost: $7 million
Square Footage: 32,000 SF
Involved Companies
Precast Concrete Producer
Enterprise Precast
Omaha, NE
Architect
Hurst-Rosche
Hillsboro, IL
General Contractor
Fager-Mc Gee Construction
Murphysboro, IL
Precast Concrete Specialty Engineer
Enterprise Precast Engineering
Omaha, NE
Background
In 2016, the roof of the Performing Arts Center at Murphysboro High School in southern Illinois collapsed under the weight of heavy equipment, causing the exterior walls to buckle. There were no injuries, but the incident put pressure on the school to replace the facility with a more durable structure. The ensuing project included building a new, larger facility that would accommodate 700 seats (up from 400), as well as renovating the administration area.
The designers replaced the original building, which had a timber roof and concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls, with a precast concrete structure. The precast concrete structure provided increased stability, durability, and energy efficiency. “Precast concrete was particularly welcome in this circumstance by the school district and all parties to avoid another structural failure,” says Dirk McClure, Director of Business Development for Enterprise Precast Concrete.
Using precast concrete also helped the construction team meet an accelerated schedule, which was particularly beneficial since the project began late in the year noted Jim Siefert, PE, Senior Associate for Hurst-Rosche, the architect for the project. “It put us into an early winter time frame to get the building up and in the dry,” he said. If masonry walls had been chosen, the contractor would not have been able to meet the installation deadline due to the cold conditions. “By using precast concrete, we were able to minimize the length of time it took to get the biggest part of the building up in fairly harsh winter conditions.”
Cold weather wasn’t the only challenge encountered on the project. The construction team also faced a tight jobsite, a construction zone tied to an existing building, and a parking lot that was “always full of teachers, students, and parents,” Seifert says. “Using precast concrete allowed us to minimize the disruption by allowing the contractor to complete the walls without having to shut down any of the areas for any length of time.”
Key Project Attributes
The project features the first, and, to date, largest use of Graphic Concrete technology in the United States.
The etched forest pattern spans 19,876 ft² of insulated composite precast concrete sandwich panels.
Erection was completed between March and December 2018, while school was in session.
Project/Precast Scope
Design and build a 30,000 ft2 high school auditorium.
The project features 54 separate precast concrete pieces.
Production of the precast concrete was completed in one month, and erection in 10 months.
Innovations/accomplishments
Winner of the 2020 Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award
The performing arts center was one of the first and largest projects in the United States to use Graphic Concrete technology, which allowed designers to transfer any image or pattern onto a precast concrete surface using craft paper and a chemical retarder imprint. The designers used the technology to etch a full-scale forest of birch trees and water into three walls of the building. The imprint links the building design to the nearby tree-lined roadways, creating a park-like feel, McClure says. The walls are also lit by color-changing LED lights that wash across the building, highlighting the crisp lines and remarkably detailed patterns. “Graphic Concrete is permanent, requiring little to no maintenance, as opposed to a mural or painted finish, and it is environmentally friendly,” McClure says. “This technology is quickly becoming a game changer in the architectural precast concrete industry.”