Armed Forces Reserve Center
PROJECT SITE
Armed Forces Reserve Center For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers / Louisville District
Lewisville, Texas
POSITION
Project Architect / Contract Administrator
FIRM
Rosser International, Inc.
PROJECT STATISTICS
Cost Of Construction = $8.5 MILLION
Area = 67,000 SF
PHOTOS
DESCRIPTION
The design of this Reserve Center for the Corps of Engineers (COE) represents the US military’s values of national security, strength, austerity, efficiency, professionalism, and pride in country and community.
The Training Center (TC) building design enhances and complements the visual environment of the surrounding area and reflects a human scale. The main entrance into the TC is designed for ease of recognition from the street and projects a strong, exterior image to users and visitors, helping to instill a sense of pride and ownership in the soldiers and enhance recruitment efforts. The TC is a total of 50,237 GSF. The Net Square Footage is a total of 48,007 NSF which expresses the efficiency of the building.
The major elements for the TC building include load bearing masonry construction into which a steel frame construction has been woven. This has been done in such a way that the addition of the steel did not affect the exterior elevations or the internal programmed spaces. The TC building also includes drilled concrete pier foundations to support a cast-in-place slab-on-grade concrete floor. Exterior walls are a brick veneer with a concrete masonry unit back-up. This is a highly preferred system used to achieve durability and low-maintenance at a reasonable cost; these walls are comprised of 8” nominal CMU, 2”rigid insulation, 2” airspace, and 4” nominal face brick. This construction has provided added value to the project in that all buildings on this reserve center will be constructed of brick and block. The standing seam metal roof system that will be used at the TC will also be used for the other reserve center buildings on this site.
Exterior openings receive aluminum frame door systems or hollow metal door frames where appropriate. Aluminum windows are used throughout and an aluminum storefront system is located at the main entrance with a custom canopy to distinguish the main entrance.
The east elevation of the TC building includes a pre-cast concrete band above the main entrance which reads, “ARMED FORCES RESERVE CENTER.” In addition, on either side of the main entrance the emblems for the ARNG and USAR are applied to the brick. The cantilevered sun shade (horizontal element) and the vertical sunshade fin work in conjunction with the framing system of the windows and compliment the overall image of the TC.
The Organizational Maintenance Shop (OMS) is a total 12,279 GSF, and the Net Square Footage is equal to 11,634. The major element of the OMS building includes the work bays, the heart of the OMS building for the ARNG and USAR. In order to address the height limitations of nominal 8” CMU, interior steel columns have been added to support the roof, and masonry piers have been incorporated on the interior side of the exterior walls.
The Unheated Storage Facility (UHS) is a total of 4,990 GSF. The Net Square Footage is equal to 4,523. The service level lighting coordinates with the layout of the cages to allow for ease of maintenance.