Work Underway for New ISD High School Facility

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

Randolph field excavation 2015-11-20

Ramtech Building Systems, the design-build construction firm of Mansfield, Texas began the site development work to prepare for the installation of a new high school facility for the Randolph Field (TX) Independent School District.

The two-story development is estimated to cost $7.3 million and will total 47,448 square feet. The design-build contract entrusts Ramtech with complete turnkey services to the district using the company’s Accelerated Building System (ABS) prefabricated construction method. To make place for the new facility, the school district demolished two existing structures, removed at the beginning of this year.

“Randolph ISD immediately saw the speed, cost and quality benefits of using our Accelerated Building System after they reviewed the two permanent ABS projects that we completed for Blue Ridge ISD,” said Linc Moss, president of Ramtech.

The new high school is designed to provide space for 23 classrooms, an eighth grade science center, two computer labs, two student commons, and an administrative area with offices, counseling suite, and a nurse station. Additionally, four high school level labs for physics, biology, chemistry, and environmental science will be built around a common central preparation area with chemical storage capacity.

The exterior design combines masonry on the first floor with a high profile custom-colored architectural metal siding in horizontal and vertical orientations that accentuate the building entrances. Heating and cooling on the second floor will be provided through high-efficiency gas-fired rooftop HVAC units, while the first floor will use zoned electrical HVAC units.

Ramtech began the manufacturing of the building in mid-November and estimated it will begin the setting of the modular sections during the first week of February. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of July. As soon as the new facility is operational, the district plans to demolish the current structure.

The Randolph Field ISD serves children of military personnel at Randolph Air Force Base, part of the Joint Base San Antonio System. The school district was funded in 1933 and is one of only three in Texas whose boundaries fall entirely within a military installation.