Central Avenue Elementary School – A Modern Take on Historical American Masonry

Words: Jake Sulya

Central Avenue Elementary School is a project that the team here at Warfield Masonry completed in 2021. Located in Midland, Washington, the project involved the demolition and replacement of the original Central Avenue School built in 1949. The original elementary school building consisted of brick masonry materials and included brick masonry arched windows with other intricate brick features. Designed by Erickson McGovern Architects, the new building was created to resemble the 1949 original with a more modernized look. With brick masonry being such a historical building practice, it was only right that the new school was designed with masonry integrated as well. The overall budget for this project was $20,051,000, with the masonry portion accounting for a little over 1% of that total. Partnered with Neely Construction Company as the general contractor, the Central Avenue Elementary School Replacement project is just one of the many projects Franklin-Pierce Public Schools have introduced to replace or modernize their school buildings. The team here at Warfield Masonry was very fortunate to work on this project, and it brings me great joy to highlight it for MASONRY Magazine.

The exterior of the new elementary school building consists of a variety of Mutual Materials masonry products. The school’s entrance was built with a blend of “Inca,” “Vintage,” and “Autumn Blend” econ brick accented by the “Natural Gray” Type S Mortar. The exterior wainscot consists of 4” Smooth Face “Deep Plum” CMU veneer with “Natural Gray” Type S Mortar as well. Besides providing aesthetic appeal, the 4” CMU veneer wainscot provides function as a shield for the lower portion of the building envelope. In addition, the econ brick blend on the exterior was also used in the entrance interior with additional brick masonry arches. This project also utilized 8” “Deep Plum” CMU for stair tower and service yard wall construction. The use of 8” CMU , 4” CMU veneer, and econ brick provided value engineering for the project compared to a full standard or modular brick façade. Our team also installed tan/sand-colored precast concrete sills at exterior window locations to offset and accent the red tones of the econ brick. We also set the precast panel etched with “Central Avenue Elementary School” that is displayed on the entrance. The original 1949 building had a similar panel display. An additional feature the building presents is the use of repurposed light fixtures integrated into our masonry wall system, as shown on the entrance exterior and entrance interior. These light fixtures were 82 years old at the time and were saved during demolition of the original building to be given new life in the replacement project.

From recycling light fixtures to referencing the original building in design, this project shows a deep appreciation for those in masonry/construction who came before us.

One of the challenges we had during the construction phase pertained to the brick arches mentioned previously. On the original 1949 building and others like it, brick arches were constructed to be self-supporting, held together by just brick and mortar. With modern-day seismic requirements being more extensive than older ones, angle irons had to be integrated so the brick masonry arches had extra support. This slowed production in those areas, but the increase in structural stability and building safety was well worth it.

Another aspect of this project I wanted to highlight was the community impact the replacement project had. My boss, Ben Warfield, explained to me that community members expressed sadness once the initial demolition of the 1949 building occurred. When you think about it, generations of Pierce County residents attended that school. So, it became an integral part of the community and a place for it grew in community members’ hearts. One thing they especially missed was the masonry, and they were more than happy that the new project incorporated brick masonry like the old one. Community members actually came up to our masons and told them how much they appreciated that the brick was returning! When moments like that happen, you can’t help thinking that what you’re building is bigger than masonry and construction itself. Not only did we build a school, but we brought back a sense of community to those in the area.

Additionally, I wanted to highlight that the project was designed to meet the WSSP (Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol). Signed into law in 2005, the WSSP covers efficient material use, energy performance requirements, and environmental quality when constructing schools. The beautiful thing about masonry products is their ability to meet these requirements.

The cherry on top for this project was that it won an award after its completion. We entered the project into the MIW (Masonry Institute of Washington) 2023 Excellence in Masonry Awards in the educational category, which is widely perceived as the most prestigious award. Up against 22 other beautiful educational replacement and addition projects, we were unsure how our Central Avenue Elementary School project would place. Much to our joy, we walked home with the Gold Award of Excellence (1st Place)! It was just the second time our organization had entered a project in the MIW Excellence in Masonry Awards, so we were more than happy to come out of it with some hardware. All in all, while winning an award is great, the impact on the community that this project had was the real prize. Like I previously stated, this project was bigger than masonry, and I’m appreciative I get to share its story with those reading.

Central Avenue Elementary School – A Modern Take on Historical American Masonry

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