Skanska USA wins contract to build $113.5mn school in Washington

Skanska has signed a contract worth $113.5mn with Highline Public Schools in Burien, Washington to build a replacement high school which will serve 1,500 students.

Skanska will demolish the existing high school and build a new 237,797 square-foot replacement school. The project includes general and specialty classrooms, a 400-seat theatre and black box drama classroom, career and technical education spaces, science classrooms and tennis courts. The competition gym has bleacher seating of about 1000 for basketball, and 1,500 for an all-school assembly.

Bassetti Architects have offered a design that makes a commitment to reuse and recycling. It will preserve the large trees in front of the school and a stained-glass pirate featured in the main entrance. Bassetti’s principal architect Dan Miles is planning to rebuild the main entrance to honour the original. "On the main entrance, we will take the white terracotta down block by block so we can reconstruct it,” he confirmed.

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The north building will be two stories, connected to a three-story south building by a two-story commons.Improvements to the 13-acre site will include courtyards and recreational areas, new student pick-up and drop-off areas, bus loading and unloading, parking for staff, visitors and events, and off-site improvements to adjacent city streets. The project is scheduled for completion in June 2021.

Skanska is one of the leading construction and development companies in the USA, specialising in building construction, civil infrastructure and developing commercial properties in select markets. Skanska USA had sales of $8.1bn in 2018 and around 9,000 employees across its operations.

Bassetti commits to improving the impact of its building designs on climate, community, and occupant health. Globally, building construction and operations contribute 40% of human impacts to our planet’s climate and ecology. Locally, buildings create and shape our communities and social interactions in quantifiable ways. Individually, buildings can directly affect occupant health and performance. Bassetti has signed onto the AIA 2030 Commitment to meet the targets of carbon-free design by 2030.