Eureka High School STEM Labs

In order to accommodate the increase in student enrollment at Eureka High School and maintain Rockwood School District’s commitment to providing more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, Eureka High School added a 90,000 sq. ft., 2-story addition with 22 laboratories. This project also called for 52,000 sq. ft. of renovations, including a new main office, classrooms, guidance offices, and a nurse station.

Not only was the school to remain operational during construction activities, but portions of the existing fire protection, fire alarm, and telecommunication systems needed to be reconfigured in the areas being renovated to avoid service disruption in areas not under construction. Providing a design that could accommodate the construction in phases was the biggest challenge. In addition to carefully planning out the phasing, McClure Engineering worked closely with the District staff and fire marshal, carefully documenting the existing conditions of these systems to coordinate how to effectively minimize downtime and maintain the necessary protection of the school premises.

Using the existing utility gas service, a new hot water heating system was provided to serve the new addition. McClure Engineering extended the existing fire protection system to serve both levels of the new addition. The team provided LED lighting and occupancy sensor lighting controls in both the new addition and renovation areas for low energy consumption and ease of use for the building occupants. To keep the electrical services operational during the project duration, McClure Engineering provided a new electrical service for the STEM building addition. Finally, the team extended the existing telecommunication, fire alarm, public address intercom, and clock systems from the existing building into the new STEM addition and coordinated the necessary re-work to keep these systems operational during the renovation phases. In addition, new access control, security camera, and classroom audio-visual systems were included.