By K. Robert Wendel

The "Desert Eagles" of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community will soon be soaring in their modern new high school, with builder Kitchell Contractors of Phoenix aiming for a December completion of the $20 million project.

Six connected buildings combine to create the 127,000-sq.-ft. school, which is centrally located on the tribe's reservation. Long-range plans call for the addition of an elementary school and junior high, which takes place when the high school reaches full capacity with 525 students.

A recently completed early childhood center was included in the long-range plan's first phase. Design is expected to begin soon on the elementary school. Contractors placed the utilities for the future work, as well as providing extra space in the mechanical plant for more chiller units.

The high school buildings, which are curved on a radius around a central courtyard, face Red Mountain, a culturally significant landmark for the local tribes. When a tribe member sees the mountain, "they know they are home, and its important to instill that in our youth," said Janet Johnson of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community.

"This project has a lot of symbols that are culturally important to the tribes here," said Mark Maxwell, project manager for Kitchell Contractors of Phoenix. "The design concept was to orient the campus so they can see the Red Mountain in the distance."

Although not designated a "green building," architects still used many sustainable building methods such as a 25 percent fly ash-concrete mix, energy recovery systems, day lighting and engineered wood products. Bel Aire Mechanical of Phoenix installed the HVAC and energy recovery systems, with Gilbert-based Irontree Construction and Midstate Mechanical sharing the plumbing installation. Jessco Electric of Phoenix was the electrical contractor.

The construction manager at-risk project utilizes a variety of different building systems. Constructed on ‚ a slab-on-grade foundation that sits on engineered fill, the project has steel, tilt-up, masonry and some wood construction and load-bearing masonry. Action Steel of Glendale, Ariz., performed much of the rebar and steelwork, while Vickers Hari Contracting and Desert Masonry of Phoenix did the block work.

"The most difficult thing design-wise was the circular nature of the project," said Doug Hubbard of Gilbert, Ariz.-based Hubbard Engineering. "The community likes things in circles because it is meaningful to them, but circles are difficult to design grades for and I imagine it makes them equally hard to construct."

Designers from the Phoenix office of DLR Group conducted extensive public outreach efforts on the reservation to get , input on the project from tribal members.

"We have definitely had a lot of involvement and input from the community on the cultural aspects as to what the space will look like inside and out," said Kirk Beaty, construction manager for the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, which owns the project. "The challenge was creating a modern building with the cultural aspects of the community to make something that fits in out here."

Architects cast designs in the tilt-up walls, including the school's mascot, the eagle;, other culturally significant animals; and basketry. A replica of a "vato," or traditional shade structure, is also under construction. Approximately 32,000 sq. ft. of the project is dedicated to classroom space, with architects making extensive use of day lighting.

The classroom space includes a vocational studies program as well as space for life-management classes. The school will adopt the curriculum to include teaching students about their heritage and history.

Another 34,000 -sq. -ft. is dedicated to an administration building that also houses the cafeteria. And athletes can get a good workout in the 51,000-sq.-ft. gymnasium.

"This project has a lot of different needs for the students so the school is a lot bigger in per-student square footage than a standard school," said DLR architect Doug McCord. "The school will have a lot of unique programs that teach the kids about their heritage, and there are also a lot of art programs and special education programs, so we tried to design a building that would meet all their needs."

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