LOCATION
Omaha, Nebraska

AREA
45,000 GSF

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This Omaha Public Schools facility includes larger than normal classrooms, accessible restrooms, cafeteria, a stimulating multisensory room, therapy pool with locker rooms, art, and music classrooms, covered bus drop-off, and storm shelters.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• Plumbing system includes domestic water, storm, and sanitary sewer service.
• Natural gas-fired water heaters generate domestic hot water. The domestic water heaters provide dual temperatures to accommodate the requirements of the kitchen and the general use of hot water.
• The HVAC system consists of four-pipe fan coil units, heat recovery chiller, geothermal heat exchanger, and condensing hot water boiler. Outdoor air is introduced through a roof-mounted energy recovery unit.
• The fire protection system is a wet sprinkler system designed for light hazard.
• A natural gas-fired emergency generator provides standby power for emergency lighting and other loads. A battery back-up inverter provides power for emergency lighting and a ventilation fan serving the storm shelter.
• The facility has a complete data and communications wiring system, including raceways, cable trays, terminal boards, cable, equipment racks, patch panels, punch-down blocks, cable management hardware, and universal jacks.
• Electronic security systems consist of an intrusion detection system (IDS), an electronic access control (EAC) system, and rough-ins for the owner-provided electronic video surveillance (EVS) system.
• An acoustical analysis was conducted to ensure spaces provide acceptable speech intelligibility and reverberation suitable for their designated use, whether that is speech, music, or a combination of both.
• A comprehensive daylight study was conducted to identify glare potential and recommend material selections to mitigate concerns, particularly in the pool room.
• 2019 winner of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) special citation for lighting design.

Photography credit: Kessler Photography