Upper Village Classroom Building, Foothill Country Day School
Claremont, Calif.

We provided structural design to PJHM Architects and are the engineer of record for the two-story, wood-framed building which has received the City of Claremont Architectural Commission’s Excellence In Design Award in the New Construction category. The 15,000-sf building expands the capacity of the small private school by adding 11 classrooms, locker rooms, staff support areas and an administration area. It features wood stud and wood truss joists, glue-laminated columns, beams and girders, a plywood deck with lightweight concrete topping and plywood shear walls. The central court is covered with translucent Kalwall panels, and with the top of the center columns at a low point, is designed to collect rain water that is drained by pipes and used for interior planting. We designed the building for high seismic forces and vertical and horizontal irregularities, as well as 85-mile-per-hour winds.