On an early October morning, a crane hoists the first steel I-beam into place, marking the start of construction of the metallic wings flanking the top floor of Charlotte Country Day School’s latest campus addition, the Belk Upper School Learning Center.
Fifty yards away, Honors Engineering students crowd around the windows of Charles Tuttle’s classroom. Observing construction activities from the Purdy Math and Science Building, students have a bird’s eye view of their changing campus. They are particularly intrigued by the function of steel beams. As Tuttle turns students’ attention away from the windows, directing them to the interactive QOMO® display on the wall, he discusses the impressive load-bearing capabilities of the beams, using the 14,000-square-foot construction project as an example extending far beyond the textbook.
As cranes have risen and been dismantled, concrete cured and buildings completed, the footprint of Country Day’s campus has changed dramatically over the course of nearly five years and 112,000 square feet of renovation and expansion. Ranked as the #1 Education Contractor in the Southeast (ENR 2020), Balfour Beatty, in a joint venture partnership with Edison Foard, has consistently achieved high marks on work performed at Country Day.
A key goal of Country Day’s campus redesign was to function like a university campus but in a smaller, more personalized environment that prepares students for the next phase of their education. With the creation of five new spaces, the Balfour Beatty/Edison Foard team has achieved that and more—providing students with some incredible opportunities along the way.
The on-campus construction offers students a real-world lens into a possible career path in the STEM field, particularly for aspiring architects, engineers, and construction managers. Head Upper School Librarian Tedd Roseberry reflects on his experience with the campus construction’s influence on students, “I invited kids who were interested in the new Upper School library building to meet with me, to look at the floorplans and renderings from the architect, and to talk about how we might use the new spaces. Over a dozen kids showed up during lunch for that initial meeting, including two aspiring architects. They’re very interested in the process, the design, the construction—all of it.”
Members of the Country Day's Science Department have fielded questions from curious future engineers and architects about topics ranging from concrete pouring strategies to HVAC unit installation and even the building’s climate control systems. “The students are enjoying the ‘building’ on campus. They’ve been interested in everything from material selection to technological capabilities,” explains Tuttle. “The construction of the Purdy Math and Science Building allowed us to conduct experiments and experiences that would have been impossible without the new construction.”
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