Construction Begins on New Oasis Elementary School
March 11, 2008
Construction has begun on the NTD Architecture design of Coachella Valley Unified School District’s New Oasis Elementary School, which will replace the former Oasis Elementary that sits on a previously unidentified flood zone. The original Oasis Elementary School is over 100 years old, and has served not only as an educational facility, but also as a center for the community, complete with indoor and outdoor recreational spaces.
The $25.4 M school will feature 11 separate structures, including a multipurpose building, administration, a library building with a full computer lab, two kindergarten buildings with three teaching stations each, four classroom buildings with a total of 31 teaching stations, and two lunch shelters. New Oasis Elementary School, located in Thermal, California, will have a square footage of 65,113 and will sit on a 21.9-acre site.
“This project is especially unique in that we have been given the honor of preserving the century-old heritage of the community,” says Godwin S. Osifeso, AIA, LEED AP, Principal at NTD Architecture. “We are grateful to be able to provide a modern facility for a community that is strongly linked by their culture.”
Located on a rural site, utility infrastructure beyond power and phone lines were non-existent, and the lack of utilities such as water, sewer, gas, and storm drainage had to be addressed and resolved prior to the start of construction. The project includes a multitude of sustainable design features, such as daylighting, motion sensor lighting, low water native landscaping, natural storm water filtration, an integrated energy management system, ventilation, minimal hardscaping, and a high efficiency HVAC system.
A groundbreaking ceremony held on March 5, 2008 officially launched the start of construction on New Oasis Elementary School. In attendance were the District’s Board of Trustees and Administration, students who will attend the new school, former students of the old school, and several members of the NTD Architecture design team.
The team assigned to the project includes NTD Architecture, Wheeler & Gray, Inc. for structural engineering, Fuscoe Engineering, Inc. for civil, DCGA Engineers for MEP, Robert J. Clark & Associates for landscape architecture, and Mace Food Service. NTD Architecture’s Education Funding Services department assisted the District in maximizing state funds for the project. Construction is slated for completion in December of 2008.
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