|
| | You will need to click the back button on your menu bar
to take you back to the Italy High School website.
Gladiator
Coliseum
by Freda Parker
Photos by David South, Jr.
School:
Italy High School
Location: Italy Independent School District in Italy, Texas
Superintendent: Jimmie Malone
Population: 625 Students
Facility: Monolithic Dome,two-story,148’ diameter as Multipurpose
Center, that
includes gymnasium with walking track, seating for 1500,auditorium,classrooms
for special activities and concrete parking area and drives.
Design: Monolithic Dome Institute in Italy, Texas — Architect Rick
Crandall
Shell Construction: Dome Technology Inc., Idaho Falls, Idaho
Finishing Construction: J. Daughtery Construction
Construction Management: Monolithic Construction Management in Italy,
Texas — Alden Porter
Completed: January 2002
Once the 2000
residents of Italy, Texas passed a $2 million bond for a Multipurpose Center,
administrators began researching popular construction of school facilities.
Former Superintendent Mike Clifton said, “Of course we were all familiar with the
domes. We had a good overview. But we really had to see for ourselves... we
visited Thousand
Oaks — a dome already operating — and we came away convinced.”
Clifton and his
board were impressed with the Monolithic Dome ’s initial construction cost,
ongoing maintenance costs, superior insulation and low energy use, and ability
to survive natural disasters — including tornadoes, familiar visitors to
Texas.
The school and
community learned that a Monolithic Dome is built to meet or exceed FEMA ’s
(Federal Emergency Management Agency) criteria for structures that can provide
what FEMA calls near-absolute
protection. FEMA says, “Near-absolute protection means that, based on our
knowledge of tornadoes and hurricanes, the occupants of a shelter built
according to this guidance will be protected from injury or death.” (Design
and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters p.1-2)
Working with
Architect Rick Crandall and Construction Manager Alden Porter, Italy High chose
a Monolithic Dome in the Orion style — a high, two-story design easily
identified with dome arenas. It includes two levels of seating, concession
stands, ticket booths, locker rooms and bathrooms. It’s also been designated
as the school’s and the community’s disaster shelter.
The Italy
Gladiators use this Multipurpose Center for basketball and volleyball, and the
general school population uses it for physical education, theatrical
performances and a variety of other activities.
One of the dome ’s
features the athletes enjoy most is its maple, parquet floor laid in the famous
Boston Gardens pattern. Dubbed the Air-Channel Star System, the floor is the
result of many years of research by Robbins Inc.— the company that installed
the Boston Gardens floor for the Celtics in 1946 and has since become a major
supplier of gymnasium floors for the Olympics, professional stadiums and school
gymnasiums.
“That floor works
with the athlete, not against him,” said Pat Milligan of the Ponder Company, a
Dallas-based distributor for Robbins. “It’s particularly suited for
competition because it minimizes impact forces and helps the players stay
fresh.”
Construction Manager
Alden Porter noted that finding comfortable, durable seating at an affordable
price was no easy task. With research, they found Grosfillex Sport Seats,
manufactured by a French-based company with a history that dates back to 1927.
Italy purchased 880
Grosfillex Sport Seats — black, polypropylene units with a 14-inch back
support for comfort, that are mounted directly onto white concrete risers.
Telescopic bleachers provide the additional seating.
Given the beauty and
uniqueness of this facility and its generous seating capacity, Former Superintendent
Mike Clifton anticipates getting calls from neighboring schools asking to use
Italy’s Multipurpose Center for playoff games.
from site:http://www.monolithicdome.com/gallery/schools/italy/ |
