Many of the existing schools in Hardin County were built in the 1930s and 1950s and the facilities are long overdue for replacement and/or repair. In 2007, the School Board hired Buchart Horn to perform a needs assessment/feasibility analysis, which provided recommendations to the School District regarding which facilities should be replaced and which should receive renovations/additions. The study also presented various options to the District regarding potential costs, including scenarios that included consolidation of various elementary schools to allow lower overall construction and operational costs. In addition, the study evaluated numerous sites for location of new school buildings along with recommendations to the board.
Based on the Board’s decisions, Buchart Horn began design of an overall $35 million program, which included:
- Two new 550-student elementary schools
- Parris South Elementary School Addition: New security at front entrance, new clinic, upgraded student toilet rooms, and freezer and kitchen improvements
- Pickwick Southside Elementary School Addition: Upgraded student toilets, upgraded administration area, secured exterior play area, and upgraded library
- West Hardin Elementary School Addition: Upgraded clinic and new front entrance security
- Hardin County Middle School Addition: New front entrance security, upgraded administration area, upgraded clinic, new locker room, and secured breezeway
Each new elementary school will be the same design and have a functional capacity of 550 students. The design plan consists of a central core with five wings projecting outwards. The central core acts as a sound buffer between the activity areas and the academic areas. The core contains those activities supporting the basic educational program, including administration, library, teacher resources, specialty classes, music, art, and computer technology. Radiating from the central core is the multipurpose wing on the east and the cafeteria wing on the west. Three academic wings branch off the central core to the south. Two of the academic wings have the expansion capability for two more classrooms, should the need arise. During the school day, access to the building is controlled by limiting entry through the main entrance. The cafeteria and multipurpose rooms can be isolated from the rest of the building for use by afterschool and community programs.
In order to assist the schools in their Tennessee Emergency Management Agency grant application to use school hallways as emergency shelters, Buchart Horn performed NEPA investigation and coordinated with the state and federal agencies.
The sites for the two new elementary schools required extensions, additions, and improvements of existing streets. As a part of the construction documents, a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) was prepared for each site using the EPSC plans and the current general permit. This included the preparation of the Notice of Intent for the owner. In addition, an ARAP application was made and approved under the general permit for a stream crossing on one school site.
Architecture
