The nature of masonry

Masonry Construction, Jan, 2003 by Diana Granitto

A wanderer in the vast Nevada desert comes upon yet another rock formation, a mass of craggy geometric shapes limned in the gentle hues that express eons of sedimentation. But perhaps our wanderer feels the effects of the scorching sun, for the formation begins to look like a cluster of buildings.

As it turns out, that's exactly what it is. The Alexander Dawson School, a 126,000-square-foot complex on 33 acres adjacent to Red Rock National Park, was designed to become one with the surrounding desert landscape. No two of the eight sprawling buildings are alike. Each has its own jagged roof lines, natural colors and contours, and stratified patterns of concrete masonry accented with cultured stone veneer. The sense of nature is carried through indoors, where shifting sunlight and shadows play on the exposed masonry walls.

When architect Jim Lord of Kittrell Garlock & Associates first hiked out to the site with school officials, they discussed the concept of linking the design to the adjacent mountains so that children would form ties with their desert environment. "To make that connection, we decided to mimic the sedimentary patterns on the mountains," said Lord. "Those are not regularly alternated, so each building has a different pattern."

The masonry courses are not as random as they look, however, because other parameters determined block color and surface choices. Light fixtures had to be mounted on smooth block, and zoning restrictions dictated the position of certain colors. "You could call it `planned randomness,'" stated Lord.

For art to imitate nature, it took 250,000 CMU in four colors--each color in both smooth and split face--and 44 different shapes and sizes. These requirements posed a formidable challenge for producer Rinker Materials and masonry contractor H&H Contracting Corp.

"This is the only job I've ever done where these kinds of strata were designed. Hardly any two courses were the same," said Harold Elofson, president of H&H Contracting. "It does achieve what the architect was trying to do, but it made for a very detailed takeoff. We had to tell the supplier exactly how many of each block was needed."

"Our total production time was about 2 weeks spread over a 3-month period," stated Dennis Hite, Rinker's general manager, masonry. "It required several mold changes."

The task fell to foreman Jim Lauber to see that his crews followed the plans exactly, course by course. The 40-year veteran had to keep one step ahead of three crews working on two or three buildings at a time, starting with the laborers who stocked the scaffold. "If someone started one corner with the wrong color, we would have had to take it all down. Luckily that didn't happen," said Lauber, who posted the color codes on a 4x4 for workers to follow and handpicked the masons to start the corners.

The team's combined efforts produced an award-winning, $22 million project that provides a unique natural learning environment.

Project Participants

Masonry Contractor: H&H Contracting Corp., Las Vegas

Masonry Supplier: Rinker Materials, Las Vegas

General Contractor: KBA Construction Co., Las Vegas

Architect: Kittrell Garlock & Associates (KGA), Las Vegas

Structural Engineer: Bennett & Jimenez Inc., Las Vegas

Owner: Alexander Dawson Foundation, Las Vegas