When officials at Knoxville Christian School in Knoxville, Tenn., decided to expand from its existing K-8 enrollment and include a high school, it needed a new academic building on campus before the next school year.
Knoxville-based George W. Reagan Co., an independent authorized Varco Pruden Builder, was able to build a 13,900-square-foot facility in less than 10 months. The new structure includes a clear span steel building system with an architectural standing-seam metal roof, all from Memphis, Tenn.-based Varco Pruden Buildings, a division of BlueScope Buildings North America Inc. Conventional framing with the utilization of Varco Pruden’s pre-engineered purlins and SLR roof panels created an attractive front elevation.
Using Varco Pruden’s rigid frame system, the design team from Falconnier Design Co., Knoxville, utilized portal frames to add daylight windows as an architectural feature by creating a shelf along the portal beams throughout the classrooms. The aesthetically pleasing interior features concealed steel structural framing. The building’s exterior blends brick and block masonry with synthetic stucco. The space features classrooms, a full-service kitchen, and administrative and support offices.
When initially designed, the building had wood roof trusses on load-bearing masonry walls. However, a feasibility study showed the pre-engineered steel option would be more efficient, not only in cost, but also in the time that would be saved during construction. As an added benefit, the architect was able to classify the building as non-combustible, saving the necessity of additional costs for fire protection measures that would have been needed for the initially proposed wood structure. The pre-engineered metal building also led to the selection of an architectural metal roof in lieu of shingles, further enhancing the look of the structure.
The school was completed within the very tight budget in large part because of the inherent efficiency of the pre-engineered steel building, both in terms of materials and construction time.
