Proj Overview

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The new Meadow View Elementary School in Oconomowoc, Wisc., replaces an existing school located within a 1961 seminary building. The seminary had been used as a school for years while also housing the Oconomowoc Area School District (OASD) offices. It’s a beautiful building, but it was never meant to be a school.

The seminary building, with its exterior of brick and reinforced concrete, occupies a site with mature trees and wetlands. Different scenarios were considered, including tearing down the building and constructing a new one, but it didn’t make sense to cut down trees or try to move ponds. It became evident that a new site would be better.

Read more about this project in the Winter 2022 issue of Ascent.

PRECAST SOLUTION

The two schools, like the architect’s other early school projects, were masonry buildings. But more recently, for the sake of nimbleness, the architects are specifying steel framing in many classroom areas, a precast second floor for optimum strength, and precast wall panels for the gym.

 

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Project Team

Architect

Eppstein Uhen Architects

Contractor

Nicholas & Associates

Owner

Oconomowoc Area School District

Structural Engineer

Pierce Engineers

Precast Concrete Producer

Wells

Key Project Attributes

  • Meadow View was designed with an emphasis on contemporary learning environments through increased daylighting, a focus on collaboration, and a high degree of flexibility able to support current and future learning needs.
  • The social stair used in this project is becoming more prevalent in K-12 schools.
  • The seminary building, with its exterior of brick and reinforced concrete, occupies a site with mature trees and wetlands. Different scenarios were considered, including tearing down the building and constructing a new one, but it didn’t make sense to cut down trees or try to move ponds.

Project/Precast Scope

  • There were 379 pieces of precast concrete in the project, including 59 wall panels and 44,000 square feet of 8- and 12-inch hollow-core slab?
  • Precast floors reduce vibration, which is essential for a learning environment where people are walking down the halls and using adjacent rooms.
  • The precast concrete structure was able to support flexibility for the large gym spaces.