ADOPT-A-SITEIsabel Fee

Sharon Amity Elementary School4835 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215

table of contentsI. Introduction 6

II. Time Line 7

III. Sequence of Assembly 8

IV. Connection Detail 12

V. Structural Systems, Path Loads 14

VII. Conclusion 16

VIII. Appendix 18

6

Introduction

Project Name: Sharon Amity Elementary SchoolLocation: Charlotte, NC

Architect: Hamilton Cort, Cort Architectur-al Group

Project Engineer: Drew Nessemeir, Metcon Contracting Company

Owner: Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Schools

Introduction

Sharon Amity Elementary School is a 115,325 square foot project begun in February 2014 and set to finish in March of 2015. This project was done for the Mecklenburg County School System and will serve students from Pre-K to the 5th grade.

This project is on-going, and so this project capture only a 9-week image of the process. Visits began with the construction of primary structure and ended with facade work and internal spacial development through November of 2014.

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Timeline

1

3

5

7

2

4

6

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9/1/14 Load Bearing Masonry

9/18/14 Joist Installation

9/20/14 Decking

10/1/14 Roof Weather-Proofing

9/25/14 Piping and Duct Work

10/30/14 Architect Guided Tour

10/16/14 Studd Wall Erection

11/13/14 Fianl visit

10/23/14 Facade Masonry

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Sequence of Assembly

One thing that became aparent in the construction process was that phases take place in waves, and that different parts of building are not treated at the same or built all once. Instead, different tasks are taking place simultaneously as different wings develop at different rates.

For example, the west side of teh building have all of its structure and roof decking in place, sim-ply awaiting cladding, while the south side may still be only CMU, with nothing overhead.

For each visit we made, there was almost always someone on the roof spreading asphalt, for instance. This task was not completed all at once, but rather, was stretched out to take place on a staggered schedule.

Noah and I watched one corner just outside the cafeteria kitchen for reference week to week. This al-lowed us to follow a construction process uninterrupted.

In our later visits, many parts of the building had already been completely roofed and water-proofed. Other parts were still completely open to the sky. A crane remained on site for the on-going task of roof-outfitting.

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Ceiling Construction

Structure and decking are loaded on walls

Electrical wires are added

Structure is prepared to hang a drop ceiling

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Interior ConstructionSequence of Assembly

Stud wall division with chalk lines. Electrical PVC

Stud Wall Erecton

Stud wall Bottom Plate Installed

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Exterior Construction

CMU laid with air barrier

Air barrier gets weather-proof spray

Insulation placed in cavity and brick layer added to finish the wall.

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Connections

Connections within the schoool are either steel-to-concrete or steel-to-steel.

Pictured above is a steel-to-steel connection at the peak of a gently sloped roof. Girders (hidden in teh above photo) meet and the hanger is welded to rest on top of tehir connection. Pictured are teh plates which rise above the girders to hold teh roof ’s slope.

This type of connection is relevant to the whole building: there are girders, hangers, and gently sloped rooves in every wing (See roof diagram below).

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Steel Connection in Main HallwayGirders + Hanging Joists at Hipped Roof3” = 1’0”

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Structural Systems

This building’s primary structure is load-bearing CMU walls. (There was one instance of a column, pictured in figure 3).

Secondary structure is steel girders which span away from teh roofs’ hips. Lastly is steel bridging and tertiary structure which is decking and roof peaks.

Lateral stability is addressed in bridg-ing and in cross bracing along select walls.

Figure 3. Structural Column. Load Diagram.

Figure 4. Classroom. Load Diagram.

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Figure 1. Main hallway. Load diagram.

Figure 2. Media Center. Load diagram.

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Conclusion

Watching Sharon Amity Elementary School be built from the ground up has been a learning experience on many levels. Not only has it been an opportunity to see structural elements come together in real time, it has been a chance to job shadow a project engineer and architect, learn from construction laborers, and develop an appreciation for what it takes to orchestrate a project and create a safe, beautiful and budgeted structure for people to use and enjoy.

This experience with construction has increased my knowledge greatly about what the drawings I make in the studio actually translate to. What before to me were just lines I now recognize by sight, feel and as it relates to teh building as a system of parts.

Watching these parts come together is a very rewarding thing, especially when the architect has done their job correctly. From this project, I’ve been able to see what success looks like as well as the flip side of that, the mistakes that will inevitably take place at different scales.

WIndows in this image were misplaced Here, a a wall had to be removed Punctures were made to walls wand reinstalled. where certain mechanical items were forgotten

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In our site, I got to see several errors, each of which was a learning experience.

In one instance, a series of windows were misplaced, being 3’ off the ground when drawings called for 6’. This created a change in building design that was apparent both indoors and out and had to be corrected before construction could proceed. It ended up meaning that concrete-filled CMU had to be chipped away at by hand or over a week, rebar cut, and new bricks infilled. This process was arduous and left me with a sense of the time, materials and money that are wasted as a result of error. This was one of many mistakes that required the destruction of walls and floors. Another example took place when a door was built to be a window aperture. Also, there were countless times where plumbing was not accommodated and the floor had to be re-broken to include the proper con-duits and pipes. Similarly, there were instances in which the walls had to be pierced for forgotten ducts.

Not everything can go according to plan, as the rain also proved. One take-away I had was that a schedule has to be flexible enough for rain and other set backs to play out. Rain in a project like ours can mean a delayed opening. Flexibility is key to make these mistakes and set-backs less detrimental to the process.

After nine weeks visiting the site, I have come a long ways from where I was initially. I understand the construction process a lot better now, and have become aware of just how much there is to learn. I’m inspired and excited about a future in designing and working an environment like this one.

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Appendix

Visit 2

Visit 1

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Visit 2

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Visit 3

Appendix

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Visit 4

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Visit 5

Appendix

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Visit 6

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Visit 7

Appendix

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Visit 8-9