Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wendel Duchscherer Architects & Engineers
In the last few years, the term, “home-field advantage,” has taken on a whole new meaning. With modern technologies, the athletic-sport field has advanced in durability, comfort, aesthetics and safety, particularly in high-school sports. Where athletic fields were once reserved for varsity game day, they can now support practices, competitions in various sports and physical education classes--all on the same day--thanks to synthetic-turf fields.
In western New York, one of the most intense high-school football rivalries occurs between the Canisius High School Crusaders and the St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute Marauders. This rivalry has been featured as part of the U.S. Air Force National Rivalry Series, and even broadcast to U.S. troops around the world. The rivalry is so great that the schools even constructed their respective new synthetic-turf fields using different methods. Canisius used the typical “design-bid-build” method, while St. Joe’s used a construction manager (CM) and a negotiated-contracts approach.
Design-Bid-Build
The design-bid-build approach to construction is the most common construction delivery method. The president of Canisius High School approached one of Wendell Duchscherer Architects’ principals--a graduate of the school--to prepare construction documents for a new athletic complex in West Seneca, a suburb of Buffalo, NY. Canisius is located in the heart of Buffalo in a densely populated area and on a limited-sized campus, necessitating the need for an off-campus facility.