Project Overview
Today’s modern educational facilities must accomplish a variety of goals. They not only need to be comfortable and provide ample space for learning—they also need to support a wide range of academic and extracurricular programming. This was the case for the new Cedar Falls High School in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Encompassing more than 366,000 ft2, the school was designed to serve as both an academic hub and a community resource, supporting traditional subjects alongside specialized curricula such as engineering, fabrication, visual and performing arts, and athletics. From the onset of the project, the primary goals were clear: deliver a highly durable, flexible, and energy-efficient structure that would perform at a maximum level over a 70-year life span while maintaining a visually distinctive civic identity. Advanced Precast Company Inc., together with INVISION Architecture and Raker Rhodes Engineering, realized those goals with precast concrete.
Built to Last
Selecting precast concrete was a deliberate choice made early in the design process by the project team. Its modular nature offered a consistent design rhythm and expedited construction through factory-controlled fabrication and rapid on-site installation. Because the design team sought a material that could provide durable, long-lasting, and low-maintenance finishes on the school’s interior and exterior, precast concrete was quickly identified as the obvious choice. It could provide a complete exterior envelope for many large-scale pieces of Cedar Falls High School while also providing a resilient substrate inside.
“From the outset, the design team knew the building would need to support everything from traditional classrooms to performance spaces, athletic facilities, and fabrication labs,” says Tim Turnis, principal and architect with INVISION. “That meant durability, flexibility, and efficiency were nonnegotiable. Precast concrete stood out as the ideal solution—an all-in-one system that could deliver both structure and envelope while also creating large, open volumes with high ceilings.”
A major challenge faced by the project team was how to overcome the traditional “industrial” look of flat precast concrete panels. Their solution was to taper the thickness of the outer wythe and leverage the impact of sun angles and shadow lines to enhance the panels’ appearance and visual experience throughout the day. Architecturally, this approach helps break up massing and avoids a monolithic look. The surface of the panels has an acid-etched finish and a breathable, UV-resistant acrylic stain, delivering rich, consistent color while protecting against fading and peeling.
“Traditional flat panels risked creating an industrial appearance,” Turnis says. “The team solved this by developing custom tapered precast panels that shift in depth and catch the sun differently throughout the day, giving the façade texture, variety, and rhythm.”
The high school’s use of precast concrete sets the project apart through performance, aesthetics, and innovation. The design integrates a composite insulated panel system with nonmetallic, thermal-bridge-free connectors, ensuring superior energy performance over traditional steel-tied systems. Each panel was constructed with dual concrete wythes sandwiching continuous rigid XPS insulation, delivering a verified minimum R-value of 15, even after accounting for penetrations. The panels’ superior thermal performance will help the Cedar Falls School District meet its goal of a net-zero-ready facility. Beyond rapid erection and improved precision, precast concrete also played a pivotal role in meeting the project’s sustainability goals. Locally sourced and insulated, precast concrete not only reduced the carbon footprint compared with other cladding options but also contributed to long-term maintenance savings, minimized construction waste, and reduced transportation impacts. Overall, high-performance design strategies implemented on the project led to energy use that’s 92% better than the specifications of Iowa’s statewide energy code.
“Cedar Falls High School supports education, recreation, and cultural life for the community,” Turnis says. “By investing in precast concrete, the district created a landmark school that is built to last, flexible enough to adapt to future needs, and welcoming to the broader community it serves.”
Mason Nichols is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based writer and editor who has covered the precast concrete industry since 2013. |