We make it happen.

St. Stephen’s Catholic Church

Glenwood Springs, CO

This 22,000 SF facility was winner of the 2003 ACE award and now houses a parish center with gymnasium capabilities, kitchen and nave/loft for an occupancy of 600 parishioners.

This structure helped meet the functional needs of a growing parish on a tight budget while delivering a high end product. Together with the Architect, we worked on the tough problem of producing an architecturally pleasing building on poor ground conditions and on a tight budget.

The solution was a combination of precast concrete walls and floors with a metal building roof system and loft floor framing, founded on a drilled pier foundation. The precast was very flexible and a quality product. Architectural grade panels, poured into rubber molds to simulate stone, with colored concrete and mild reinforcement were used for walls in the upper level. Structural grade acid etch panels with form line reveals were used for detail at the lower level. Double tees were used to clear span 65 feet over the gymnasium on the lower level.

We found that with adequate front end planning and communication with the precast concrete company and metal building manufacturer, the best of both technologies could be integrated and coordinated. The architectural precast gave the church a traditional look while minimizing winter conditions with off site fabrication, and the metal roof structure provided an economical cover.

Cactus Valley Elementary School

Silt, CO

Covering 61,000 SF in two levels, this pre-K-4 facility contains classrooms, a gymnasium, stage/music room, full commercial kitchen, multi-purpose areas, and administrative offices. This project features sloped steel roof joists, structural steel, load bearing masonry, composite steel and concrete slab floor system, braced frames for lateral, steel curtain wall, cast-in-place concrete grade beams, and screw piles.

To manage the various structural design components, we used software which starts the model from CADD, applies the assigned vertical loads to individual members, designs the members based on pre-determined criteria, generates the necessary seismic loads, models the lateral load resisting elements, and communicates member sizes and reactions back to the working drawings.

At the suggestion of the Contractor and as a value engineering item after bidding, the conventional driven pipe piles were replaced by screw piles approximately 60 feet deep to gravels. The screw piles, which we used for the first time on this project, reduced foundation costs and improved the schedule significantly. This analysis method and the foundation system were very innovative and rewarding.

L. A. Prayer Mountain Compound

Frazier Park, CA

The new multi-Purpose building acts primarily as a place of worship for the compound, but can also be used for large meetings. The structure utilizes scissor trusses to give the building a typical ecclesiastical look. The porches on three sides of the building increase the public spaces and adds visual interest. Multiple roofs at the entry create a more diverse exterior while working to delineated the interior spaces. Creating an appealing appearance wasn't the only challenge for this project. The design had to also meet California’s strict earthquake code. Wood shear walls and seismic strapping were used to provide lateral stability.

The cabins are small buildings to temporarily lodge visiting members of the congregation. They are pre-built facilities that sit on new foundations. The challenge was to provide foundations that will provide frost protection and that also connect to the building to resist the earthquake and gravity loads while being cost effective.