Iowa High School to Upgrade HVAC System

For the first time ever, the main gymnasium and cafeteria at Fort Dodge Senior High School in Fort Dodge, Iowa, will have air conditioning when the next school year begins this fall.

The school board for the Fort Dodge Community School District recently approved a $2.2-million HVAC addition and replacement project at Fort Dodge Senior High School. The board approved a bid from Kolacia Construction on Monday, Jan. 24. Work is expected to begin about May 31 and finish by Aug. 12, before the 2022–23 school year begins.

This will be the first HVAC system for the school’s cafeteria area and main gymnasium, according to District Communications Director Jen Lane. Work will include a new rooftop unit, new chiller and chiller piping upgrades, fire suppression systems and new hydronic piping. The work will also entail new interior finishes and electrical work in the cafeteria, kitchen serving area and commons areas.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • California Middle School Breaks Ground on Major Renovation Project

    The Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) in Hillsborough, Calif., recently began construction on new multipurpose and administration facilities for Crocker Middle School, according to a news release.