At age 50, Henrico High School’s long-awaited makeover began. Constructed in 1962, the county hired Moseley Architects in 2012 to begin the design of $31 million worth of renovations and additions that would elevate and enhance the campus and learning environment. Henrico County’s goals were twofold: modernize aging facilities while retaining a campus feel, and reprioritize programmatic adjacencies.

Achieving these goals required the demolition of four buildings and the addition of a new 55,000 sf, one-story structure to hold a kitchen, library, offices, and commons. The project connects several buildings on the western side of the campus, where the gym and auditorium are located. New construction and renovations were completed in October 2015. Schnabel was on board from start to finish.

We performed subsurface investigation, field engineering, and soil testing in order to provide geotechnical engineering design recommendations in advance of design and construction for both the new building and site improvements to create extended drop-off areas. We also provided recommendations for site restoration of below-grade areas disturbed by building demolition.

The addition was supported on shallow spread footings. Helical piers were used to underpin footings, and shotcrete was used for excavation support for deep excavations next to buildings. During construction, we provided project management, observation, and testing services related to earthwork and foundations, helical pile foundations and shoring, cast-in-place concrete for floor slabs, mortar and grout mixing and handling for masonry work, bituminous paving, fireproofing, structural steel, and light gauge metal framing.