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t Estimating
<br /> , Building Costs
<br /> Guesstimates won't do when it comes to building high schools, so plug space
<br /> and construction requirements into this tested formula to arrive at a
<br /> realistic estimate of what it will cost to build and equip your facility.
<br /> By David Carter, Timothy K. Scarbrough, and Syd Spain
<br /> Sties, we have developed a way to central facilities such as auditoriums
<br /> analyze estimated costs and explore or gymnasiums. Schools with excel-
<br /> budget options when planning the lent functional adequacy, on the
<br /> mart, cost-ef- construction of a high school. The other hand, provide for a broader
<br /> fective budgeting is a matter of eco- chart on page Al2 shows how this curriculum and more satisfactory
<br /> nomic necessity in all areas of con- approach to cost-estimate analysis central and service facilities.
<br /> struction—and public projects such can be applied to a hypothetical The list below illustrates the
<br /> (, as new schools are no exception, building project—a 2,000-student necessary gross square feet (GSF) per
<br /> Dwindling community tax bases, high school. (This analysis excludes student for different levels of func-
<br /> fewer taxpayers with school-age the costs that might be associated tional adequacy. For example, mod-
<br /> children, and growing public re- with acquiring construction capital erate functional adequacy calls for a
<br /> sistance to increased taxation pose through bonds or loans.) GSF per student of 120 in a 2,000-
<br /> a problem for many school systems: student high school and 140 in a
<br /> With fewer financial resources, how 1,000-student high school. Because
<br /> can you build the high-quality Estimating your budget area efficiencies increase as high
<br /> schools you need? In our model, as in any real-life school sizes intiease, the GSF per
<br /> In the early stages of budget plan- building project, the total budget is, student is smaller in the larger
<br /> ning for a new high school, school to a large extent,a function of space school. .
<br /> board members, school administra- requirements and quality of con- The first step in our model is to
<br /> tors, and architects have to juggle struction. To show how we arrive at select the desired level of functional
<br /> total costs, area requirements, and a final budget estimate, let's walk adequacy from the following list and
<br /> construction quality to accommo- through the model step by step: multiply it by the projected student
<br /> date the carefully considered needs 1. Estimate the needed build- enrollment:
<br /> of the school district's students and ing area.How big should your new • Superb: from 179 osF/student in
<br /> residents. The success of the fin- school building be? That depends a 2,000-student school to 230 GSF/
<br /> ished product is critically influenced on whether you want a superb facil- student in a 1,000-student school
<br /> by these early decisions. ity, the bare minimum,or something • Grand: from 155 GsF/student in
<br /> Working with school officials in in between. It depends, in other a 2,000-student school to 195 GSF/
<br /> the design of more than 1,000 high words, on how functionally ade- student in a 1,000-student school
<br /> schools and other educational facili- quate you want your building to be. • Excellent: from 135 GsF/student
<br /> Functional adequacy is a measure in a 2,000-student school to 165
<br /> David Carter is an architectural pro- of the amount of service and sup- GsF/student in a 1,000-student
<br /> grammer for CRS Sirrine, Inc., Houston.
<br /> Timothy K. Scarbrough, also an architec- port a school provides in relation to school
<br /> tural planner with CRS Sirrine, Inc., cur- the number of students and school • Moderate: from 120 GsF/student
<br /> rently is program managerfor capital im- programs. Most measurements of in a 2,000-student school to 140
<br /> provements in the Dade County(Florida) this type are made in gross building G7F:stu den t in a 1,000-student
<br /> Public Schools. Syd Spain,formerly a re
<br /> search specialist with CRS Sirrine, Inc., is area per unit. Schools with austere school
<br /> assistant dean, School of Architecture, functional adequacy have no voca- • Economical: from 105 GsF/stu-
<br /> Auburn University, Auburn, Ala. tional/technical areas and minimum dent in a 2,000-student school to
<br /> BUILDING EDUCATION — May 1989 A l 1
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