Beyond the Barriers

With the towering white hallway barriers, stripped empty walls, and absence of school doors, students often complain that Millard North is starting to feel no different than a prison. While the navigation of construction barriers have become a constant in school life, the end result of the renovations will improve efficiency in the building for students and faculty.

In early February, Lund-Ross Constructors was awarded a $9.75M contract to build a new entrance, second-floor concourse, and 212 seat lecture hall.

“Every school needs to be updated. The whole idea of this project to make the building cool and functionable. It’ll be so much more efficient, it’s unbelievable,” Lund-Ross Supervisor, Andy Kavan said.

The new front entrance will be a distinguishing feature of pride to students and faculty, which will also function to enhance school security.

“The security kiosk by the new entrance will be able to filter kids as they come in. One of the problems with the old school, and other schools, is a lack of inspection. With the kiosk, no one can just walk in and start wandering around school because there’s another barrier,” Kavan said.

The architectural preplanning also revealed that the majority of the entrance way will be made of glass. Students will be able to view the front of the school through the configuration of a new second-floor corridor built to ease student crowding.

“The second floor concourse will connect the upper half of the building. About half of it is all glass, so as students walk through the concourse, they’ll be able to see outside. We’re also reimplementing the trophy centers and hall of fame wall with a modern look,” Kavan said.

The new second-floor concourse should relieve pedestrian traffic that clogs the first-floor hallways when students walk between classes.
Along with efficiency, the school board has made plans to build a 212 seat lecture hall for in-school testing.

“Right now, the school outsources to other lecture halls for tests. The lecture halls are specifically designed to maximize utility for testing. The amenities ensure that there is no sound transfer. Students will be able to hear virtually nothing from the outside,” Kavan said.

Workers started the construction process in June 2015, and are expected to be completed by July 2016. Due to their hard work over the summer, the team is optimistic about their completion date and already lies way ahead of schedule.

“Every week, we sit down with administrators, architects, and constructors to plan and reflect on progress. We know for a fact, by July next year, it won’t look like the current school at all,” Kavan said.