11/20/2019 – The Daily Transcript: El Capitan High School to open new event complex
Students at Lakeside's El Capitan High School will have access to a new multi-functional performing arts center this week, following a ribbon-cutting event Wednesday.
Developed for roughly $11 million, the two-building complex comprises 16,000 square feet of floor area and contains flexible event space, a lobby and concessions area, band rooms, a dance studio and a drama classroom.
According to a news release from Grossmont Union High School District, the complex "is intended to create an iconic new facility with indoor and outdoor gathering and learning spaces, establish an architectural integration with the existing campus buildings and surrounding areas, and tie into the cultural heritage of El Capitan High School's 'Vaquero Pride' spirit."
Envisioned by Harley Ellis Devereaux, a Michigan-based architecture firm with a San Diego office, the facility's flat-floored event space was designed with retractable seating and a ceiling pipe grid to allow for a variety of events, including performances, gallery showings and banquets.
The project design also features architectural and landscape elements inspired by the school's alma mater poem, which references "sycamores," "mighty mountains" and "new horizons."
Owing to the project's proximity to the San Diego River, the project team installed about 600 columns of crushed stone into the underlying soil to increase the material's load-bearing capacity and improve drainage. The aggregate piers were driven into the soil using a vibrating tool suspended from a crane, according to the release.
C.W. Driver managed the construction under a multi-prime contract. The project team also included electrical engineer IMEG, structural engineer Wiseman + Rohy Structural Engineers, Spurlock Landscape Architects and civil engineer Snipes Dye & Associates.
The architects collaborated with Texas-based Idibri on the theater design, according to the release.
Officials from GUHSD, including superintendent Tim Glover, will attend the event, which will begin at 10 a.m. Along with the ribbon-cutting and speaking program, the event will include tours of the space and student presentations.
The project was funded by Proposition U, a $417 million bond approved by East County voters in 2008.
