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Selective Demolition

Demolition on this site is an aspect of the project that was entirely covered by the owner, not under contract with the construction manager at-risk. This demolition included the removal of the old school structure as well as new construction of a temporary fire station that is located on the northwest corner of the site. The owner, Arlington Public Schools (APS), was responsible for various preceding work prior to construction under the GMP contract. This work included demolition and removal of buildings, site clearing and site improvements, below grade construction ‒ disconnecting, capping, or ceiling the existing site utilities. For this work to be done, the owner awarded separate contracts for the demolition of the existing site, streetscape work on 18th Street (adjacent to the project site), and the complete construction and demolition of the temporary fire station on the project site.

 

Precast Concrete

Precast concrete involved in the Wilson School project includes a number of exterior items. The seat walls along the Wilson Boulevard Plaza will all be precast and will line the perimeter of the plaza allowing for community seating space between the school and Wilson Boulevard. Also included on this side of Wilson Boulevard will be a precast concrete curbs. The sloped lawns at the Level 2 Terrace will also have a precast wall system. The Level 5 Terrace will feature both precast concrete paver cubes as well as multiple precast concrete planters.

 

Curtain Wall and Metal Panels

The majority of the building enclosure is a curtain wall and metal panel system. The curtain wall will consist of cold formed metal as support for the glazing, and the glazing will consist of an insulated double pane glass with additional film window treatments. This curtain wall system accounts for a large majority of the exterior surface area. In addition to the curtain wall, a metal panel system will be used. This system consists of insulated metal panels that are attached to cold formed metal framing.

 

Mechanical and Electrical

Wilson School will utilize a rooftop penthouse to house the some of the major mechanical and electrical components of the building. The main electrical room will be located in the basement, the B2 level. This electrical room will house a utility transformer that feeds a main distribution switchboard (MDS), which goes on to feed three other transformers to distribute power to the rest of the building. Both Level G1 and Level 2 have smaller electrical rooms, both housing a transformer and additional panels. Level 5 has an electrical room as well as an adjacent telecom room. The penthouse will house multiple electrical components, including a 250 KVA generator for backup and emergency power. Air handling units for the building will also be located inside of the penthouse. Within the building, the main electrical room will be located in the basement and will also provide access to the automatic transfer switch, the switch gear,  the gas meter, as well as three (3) air handlers located inside the room. The fire pump room will be located adjacent to the mechanical room but will have its own access point as well as fire rated walls.

 

Roofing and Terraces

One of the most notable features of the building is its structural system that fans each floor bar, allowing for usable terrace space on each above ground floor. The structure of the building consists of a steel structure. One of the key elements to this fanned floor bar design is the use of an SBS roofing system that utilizes floating pedestals placed on top to hold pavers that allow occupants to utilize the terrace areas on each roof. Part of each roof will feature a green roof type area, as well as rain screen paneling.