“This is right on track now,” school board member Michael Windom told Campbell of the redesigns. “I’m really excited about where I see us being with it here.”
The committee had sent Campbell back to Atlanta earlier this month with a slew of redesign instructions, including some major structural changes. Campbell made some significant modifications and returned Thursday with the changes — and a price tag to match.
Board members Windom and Milton Griffin approved a $48,000 additional-services fee to be paid to Campbell’s architectural firm for the modifications. The project’s budget is about $15 million, with about $1 million set aside for contingency funding, which will cover the $48,000, Facilities Director Bob Fowler said during the meeting.
The fee is paying for the redesign of the administrative office area, a significant portion of which has been moved forward. A media center is planned for the future, but under the redesigns, a corner of the media center will be substituted for additional office space. A four-week extension was also added to the project’s timetable with the vote.
Changes to the plan are meant to control visitor traffic through the building so access to the building can be restricted.
The architect will also have to fiddle with some of the specific office placements, but school system officials at the meeting were very pleased with the changes that had been made.
Campbell said the architectural firm charges the fee because it includes substantial changes to the plans, including the building’s foundations, plumbing and electrical work.
Much of the color scheme was changed in the new plans, and Campbell had added potential designs for a large commons area near the school’s main entrance, including a “cloud” made of drywall to hang from the area. Another touch officials liked was the addition of track lighting to a section of the commons area that will allow for art displays at the school.
“I think Don has more than responded to our requests,” Fowler told the group.
Campbell will return to the drawing board to draft a more finalized version before reporting to the committee again, after which the project can be bid out to contractors.