CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA – Japan Engineer District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers partnered yet again with Department of Defense Education Activity to deliver 21st Century Construction during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Killin Elementary School Nov. 10.
This ceremony saw the fifth and final ribbon-cutting for the district this month with four of the five projects representing DODEA schools. This collective of ceremonies was attended by Thomas M. Brady, director of DoDEA, who spoke to the critical investment in providing state-of-the-art learning spaces for DoD students in the region.
“In the last 10 years, the Department of Defense has invested $4 billion in new schools in DoDEA,” remarked Brady. “…and this is an $85 million example of that dedication. And that is a remarkable commitment to not only taking care of families, [but] taking care of readiness of the deployed forces.”
“This construction project highlights the commitment of DoDEA and the military to provide the best possible school facilities and opportunities to our military-connected students who are serving in remote environments,” added Jimmy Journey, superintendent of DoDEA’s Pacific South District.
Set to welcome students in January 2022, the 112,369 ft. facility earned a LEED Silver Rating leveraging floor tile and acoustical panels, low mercury lamps, employing storm water design, water use reduction, and low-emitting materials in addition to other energy and natural resources conservation measures that were incorporated in the design.
The delivery team also worked to include Japanese acceptable alternatives into the project using Japanese fire extinguishers and hoses, 120-volt freezers and coolers, and 100-volt compressors.
The new school also met the 21st Century Construction Design standards which according to DoDEA’s official website involves the creation of instructional spaces of various sizes that are grouped together in neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has a learning hub, a central, flexible space that can be used for projects, or breakout sessions and activities. Clustered around the learning hub are learning studios or classrooms, which are paired for collaborative instruction.
“This is one of the first Pacific schools to be designed under the 21st Century Education Specifications, added Terry Schlautman, JED’s Okinawa Area Office project engineer for the build.
“The spaces are designed to be flexible to meet the needs of the learners in a multitude of settings, concurred Journey. “The flexible walls allow for the neighborhoods and learning studios to be configured to meet varying needs of the learners…this facility rivals what would be found in high-performing school districts in the US.”
While the project faced multiple challenges including worker shortages due to the Japanese Olympics and supply-chain disruption in the wake of COVID-19, the district met the challenges head on.
Katsutaro Yanagibashi, on-site project superintendent with host-nation contractor NIPPO Corp., said organizing the host-nation workers – nearly 350 workers daily – and keeping them safe and without any accidents each day was a challenging task but they worked hard to manage a safe site with consistent communication.
“There have been many challenges with this project,” said Michael A. Shable, construction representative from the JED’s Torii Resident Office. “[But] I believe all parties involved in this project gained valuable knowledge and experience that will be used to improve future projects.”
Yanagibashi was also proud to support incoming U.S. students. “All the workers put lots of effort into completing this building,” he said. “…we are very happy they [students] will be studying in this building this next year.”
Japan Engineer District is headquartered at Camp Zama and operates field offices throughout Japan. The District executes the Japan Host Nation Funded Construction and U.S. MILCON programs as the Department of Defense design and construction agent. The District supports U.S. Forces and other agencies with quality, professional and comprehensive planning, engineering, construction, environmental and other value-added services.
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