The most important conferences in California for K-12 education design and construction projects is held in February each year. Hosted by California Coalition for Adequate School Housing, known as CASH, the event is attended by architects, engineering and other A/E/C companies.

This year’s conference was the 39^th and was held at the Sacramento Convention Center. It’s the place for industry professionals to network, hear from speakers and visit with vendors. It’s the who’s who in the K-12 building industry.

2018 Leroy F. Greene Design + Planning Awards
The design and planning awards is a highlight of the conference. Year after year, KNA Structural Engineers have been on teams receiving awards. We were not disappointed this year, when our client, BakerNowicki Design Studio won the top design award for the Project in Design category for the Logan Memorial Educational Complex. There are five award categories, including Master Planning, New Built, Modernization/Transformation, Project in Design and Small Budget.

Doing Their Homework
The Logan Memorial Educational Complex has a 90-million-dollar budget and encompasses 20 acres…it’s not a meager endeavor—rather this project will replace the existing Logan K-8 and Memorial Preparatory MS campuses. The site will be re-planned to serve neighborhood students from preschool through high school. BakerNowicki conducted nine community-based planning meetings that inspired the firm’s design.

The architecture reflects the design aesthetic of the culturally rich community. The campus will be complimented by a comprehensive public art master plan that has been developed to engage the local arts community.

Who’s Leroy F. Greene
Leroy F. Greene (January 31, 1918 – September 29, 2002) was a professional engineer by vocation. He represented Sacramento County in the State Assembly from 1962 until 1982 and served as a California senator from 1982 to 1998. That’s thirty-six years of service and makes him the seventh-longest-serving member in history of the California State Legislature. As a foremost advocate for education, he sponsored many bills and measures for education, such as the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, which requires the State Allocation Board to certify funding for modernization and construction of school facilities.

Events Not to Miss

The next CASH conference will be held in October 2018 and will provide school facility professionals information on legislative and regulatory updates, as well as State Agency presentations. The Fall Conference is preceded by a separate pre-conference workshop on topics of interest to CASH members.

Coming up next year, the 40^th Annual Conference on School Facilities on February 25-27, 2019 is a not-to-be-missed event. Hope to see you there.

Images courtesy of BakerNowicki and CASH.