Channelview Athletic Complex

The property for this project was the old high school site for the District, however intuitive planning by past board members placed the high school adjacent to this property. The property edges are near the floodplain elevation, and a congested site plan demanded precise site dimensions from IBI for both the interim construction and final design requirements.

Careful planning in the placement of the new buildings on the site resulted in full utilization of the property and creatively solved the challenging site problem. A design committee, comprised of the board, administration, coaches and community members, toured local facilities to derive issues of community impact, quality and quantity. Through a collaborative process, contractors generated construction cost estimates allowing the design committee to:

• maximize the square footage;
• define construction materials; and
• avoid post-bid reductions, while staying below the project budget.

IBI subsequently conducted meetings with subcontractors and suppliers to verify overall and specific measurement of materials, installation clearances and finish products. At times, specific design challenges were addressed by assembling physical models.

With six other projects undergoing construction simultaneously across the District, this phased project had to be finished before programs could move from this property. The careful phasing of major elements and the connecting services had to be repeatedly reconciled due to uncooperative weather. The dated facilities were later repurposed for maintenance, storage, special programs, food service and administrative offices.