PROFILE: SHEET METAL WORKERS LOCAL NO.33, AKRON, O

Client:   Sheet Metal Workers
               Union Local No. 33
               Massillon, OH

Architect:  David Pelligra
                  and Architects
                  Cuyahoga Falls, OH
 

The Sheet Metal Workers Union Local No. 33 approached Wheaton Sprague (WS) in mid-2006 to assemble a team to design a new office and training facility, which would replace an existing, undersized facility located in an old elementary school building in Akron, Ohio.  

The new facility is approximately 32,000 square feet, located on a 7 acre lot in Massillon, Ohio.  The building consists of three wings – an office wing, a training wing and a meeting room wing.  WS acted as the prime consultant, assembling and coordinating the architectural, civil, mechanical and electrical consultant teams and providing the point contact between the design team and the client.
  
The office wing is approximately 3,700 square feet and houses the administrative offices and a conference room for the union personnel.  The training wing is about 21,100 square feet and contains instructor offices, classrooms and an open shop area and service lab where hands-on training occurs.  There is space for 30 welding stations, metal breaking, shearing and forming equipment and forced air furnaces and ceiling grids for assembling HVAC mock-ups. All of the classrooms are networked together in order to share audio/visual training information. 

The meeting wing is about 7,500 square feet and and can house 150 to 200 people. The wing has an adjacent commercial kitchen and storage rooms.  The kitchen has access to the outdoors in order to service a pavilion.  The pavilion is about 5,000 square feet and has storage rooms for groundskeeping equipment and outdoor grills. 

A vestibule area connects the three wings and allows for common access to all areas while also providing for security through individual, controlled access.  The main entrance to the building is highlighted by an entry tower structure while the student entrance is marked by a similar, yet smaller, structure.

The office and meeting room wings have a low, flat roof profile and are constructed using split-face masonry bearing walls with metal joist roof framing.  The training wing incorporates a low, flat roof over the classroom section with metal joists on masonry bearing walls and a high bay, pre-engineered metal building for the open shop area. 

The metal building utilizes a combination of split-face block and metal panel siding.

WS was involved throughout the design process, coordinated and reviewed the bid selection process, and coordinated Requests For Information from the contractor during construction.  The construction drawings were issued for bids about nine months after beginning schematic design and construction was completed about nine months after award to the contractor.