Building Music and Performance Friendly Facilities for Students: Part 2

Hempstead High School: Dubuque, IA

After completing a facility assessment, the Dubuque Community School District knew Hempstead High School was in need of some upgrades. The district hired FEH Design to work on additions to Hempstead High School, including both athletics and performance areas.

The $30 million renovation and addition included a new 700+ seat auditorium, gymnasium, locker and weight rooms, classrooms, art and music rooms, food prep/dining areas, and offices.

Structural insulated precast wall panels provided high R-values and the use of custom form liners, different reveal patterns, multiple colors and finishes provide a dramatic and unique design.

”Our auditorium is used for high school orchestra, band, and vocal music concerts,” said Brian Kuhle, Activities Director and Assistant Principal. “It is also used for theater productions, the school musical, our talent show, booster club dance contests, and awards ceremonies.”

The renovations and addition have allowed the school to put on state-of-the-art productions like Mary Poppins, for which the students were able to use rigging and have Mary actually fly away at the end. The booster club has also enjoyed hosting fundraising events, like the popular “Dancing with the Mustangs” event in the auditorium.

”The facility has been a huge asset to our school and our community,” Kuhle said. “It is used constantly. Our theater and music programs have grown for sure. Outside groups always want to use it. However, it is booked for district events year-round. Our students feel a great deal of pride in any event that takes place in the auditorium.”

Auditorium interior panels were produced with a stock form liner and stained to achieve the desired aesthetic. Exterior panels feature a green colored mix with reveals and light acid-etched finish. Panels on the educational wing use a buff colored mix with acid-etched finish. Panels measure 12x20x10”, 8’x53’x13”, and 8’x38’x12”.

Precast hollow core was used for a portion of the gymnasium floor over the locker rooms, ceilings over the tunnels for the auditorium, and a mezzanine in the education wing. The 8” plank allowed for spans of up to 18’. The 12” plank allowed for spans of us to 36’.

Precast:
13,221 square feet of Hollow Core
251 Wall Panels (59,617 square feet)
Multiple finishes and two custom form liners

Project Partners:
GC: Conlon Construction
Architect: FEH Design
EOR: FEH Design

With gratitude this Thanksgiving

“Each day I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, dreams that turned into reality and likes that turned into love. Most importantly though, I am thankful for you today and everyday.”
— Anonymous
happy-thanksgiving-autumn-leaves.jpg

Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.

And every Thanksgiving since 2018, I am, above all else, grateful for my sweet little boy. Just a few months shy of four-years-old, he is the heart that beats outside of my body. I am forever grateful to be his mommy and watch as he lives, learns, loves, and grows in this world. He is a constant reminder of all the good things in life.

I am grateful for the health and happiness of my family - my 91-year-old grandpa who still mows his own lawn; my mother and father, who are the best Boda and Papa a little boy could ask for; my three brothers, their better halves, and my three nephews and one niece; an aunt who is a second mother and friend to me. And although we lost my sweetest grandma earlier this year, I am grateful for all the years we had with her and all that we learned from her. She remains in my heart, guiding me through life.

I’m grateful for my SQUAD - the best girlfriends a girl could ask for, as well as their significant others and kiddos, that make my life richer. These are friends who have been around for 15, 20, even 25 years, and are truly like family. Although life keeps us busy, whenever we spend time together, it’s like no time has passed. Get yourself a group of friends like this.

With 5+ years at Mid-States Concrete under my belt, I’m also endlessly grateful to work for a company that encourages the development and success of its team members. And, I’d be remiss if I didn’t express my gratitude for the customers that trust Mid-States to serve as partners on their projects. Every day, we get to be part of amazing projects that make a difference in the communities where people live, work, learn, and play. It’s a blessing our team does not take lightly. So, a BIG THANK YOU to all of our customers - past, present, and future. We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next!

Building Music and Performance Friendly Facilities for Students: Part 1

Armerding Center for Music and the Arts: Wheaton, Ill.

The Armerding Center for Music and the Arts was a two phase renovation project. While the first phase included the development of a state-of-the-art recital hall, sound-cancelling practice rooms and classrooms, two recording studios, and faculty studios, Mid-States was a proud project partner on the second phase. The second phase, completed in September 2020, included a 650-seat acoustically-engineered concert hall, a choral rehearsal room, and grand lobby.

”The product and the project was amazing,” said Dean Michael Wilder. “I was really, really grateful for this approach and for the ways this made an amazingly efficient and well-constructed approach. It’s really amazing.”

Wilder said because the facility serves so many important purposes on campus, they focused on three main things: acoustics, function, and aesthetics - in that order.

There are two ways of dealing with sound levels: sound insulation and sound absorption. Materials with heavy mass, like precast concrete walls, work well with sound.

”Musicians are easily distracted by sound, so as they hear sounds from other spaces, they get off track and they can’t focus the way they need to and want to,” Wilder said. Precast concrete wall panels provide the sound barrier necessary for musicians.

The primary purpose of the concert hall is to host the school’s performances - choir, orchestra, band, solo performers, chamber music. The hall will also host guest artists - musicians, poets, public speakers, lecturers. During the pandemic, the space was also used to help facilitate classes and programming while following CDC guidelines. The school typically hosts more than 35,000 people each year for concerts and other events at the facilities.

The concert hall has been 35 years in the making, according to Wilder. An accreditor in music visits the college every 10 years to check things out and shares what they think is strong about the music program and what isn’t. Three decades ago, the accreditors started telling the school they needed a medium-sized concert facility.

”This is really the answer to a decades long need of the college,” Wilder said, adding he is excited for the accreditors to visit in a year-and-a-half and see the new facility. “It ended with a 90,000 square foot building that solved a lot of other problems, too, like classrooms, etc.”

The project was the last pieces of the puzzle to really complete the Wheaton College campus and to fully serve all students.

”Music is at the heart of the college and it is important in scripture, too,” Wilder said. “The President (of Wheaton College) said it was time to put music at the center of the college, like it is the center of the Bible.”

The school has more than 150 music majors, and about one-third of enrolled students are involved in music in some fashion.

The facility is home to a beautiful nine-foot Steinway Grand Piano that was given to the school by George and Ludene Krem, both graduates of Wheaton College. The piano has been in storage for a couple of years because the school hadn’t had a home for it since receiving it. However, last summer, they took it out of storage, tuned it, and gave it a home at Armerding. The piano was played for the first time for a gathering of freshman music students. Ludene died that same morning. The story does have a happy ending though. Ludene’s widower George is engaged to be married to one of the couple’s best friends from their time at Wheaton College and they are going to get married right on the Wheaton College campus.

”We are grateful for spaces that keep with our vision and mission,” Wilder said.

Precast Elements:
55 Wall Panels (18,162 square feet): 55’ tall and 14” thick solid concrete panels, with the heaviest panel weighing 78,000 lbs.

Project Partners:
GC: Mortenson
Architect: FGM Architects
EOR: FGM Architects