The new STEM wing at W.F. West High School adds 16,500 square feet, of state-of-the-art classrooms and science labs for students in Chehalis School District. The design celebrates the building structure for the benefit of its students, featuring exposed roof joists in the classrooms and exposed T&G 2x decking and beams at the vaulted corridors throughout the building. The building brings a fresh look to an existing high school campus that will benefit the community for years to come. The exterior walls are integrated with multiple windows, canopies, and doors to provide better daylighting and visibility into the classroom experience.

 

Steel columns and beams were added to the wall structure to provide a seamless transition between the architecture and the structure. The steel structure allowed exterior walls to be framed with traditional 2x6 wall studs, maximizing the usable square footage. The design incorporated continuous clerestory windows along the corridor; in order to provide uninterrupted daylight without shear walls, steel columns were added at mullions to laterally brace the upper roof and eliminate the solid wall requirements for shear walls.