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Finding a niche: Focusing on K-12
“We were blessed,” says Tom Lueck, president of Huckabee in Fort Worth. “We are fortunate to have many repeat clients, and that’s where the majority of our workload came from.”
Huckabee, No. 35, primarily designs in the education marketplace. While K-12 has held up well during the recession, school districts are now facing funding challenges. Lueck says caps on maintenance and operating funds and on the amount districts can borrow through bond issues for new buildings have affected new projects.
“That has led to districts looking for design solutions that are more cost effective,” he adds.
A new 86,500-sq-ft prototype elementary school design by Huckabee for Longview Independent School District in Longview features a geothermal heating and cooling system, standing-seam metal pitched roofs for durability, equipment mezzanines for ease of maintenance and insulated solid masonry exterior walls.
Charter Builders of Dallas broke ground in February on Huckabee’s Intermediate School No. 2 for Midway ISD. The firm created a compact design with an open feel and extensive daylighting, which will extend from the library to interior classrooms through small group rooms. Construction will cost $19.2 million, $1.7 million under budget.
Huckabee operates debt free with lean staffing, and it has avoided laying off any employees during the recession. Tommy Huckabee founded the company in 1967. He began his career in the construction industry.
That experience allowed him to create an architecture firm that produces easy-to-build buildings, with easy-to-read drawings and a proactive attitude toward contractors, Lueck says.
Building green
“LEED is still a topic of discussion but not quite as prevalent as in 2007 and early 2008,” Corgan’s Lind says. “Part of that may be that people are more accustomed to it, and it doesn’t have the shine it did in its infancy.”
Lind adds that clients expect LEED features, and several jurisdictions now require it.
Lueck says school districts are becoming more interested in LEED-certified designs because the designation helps reinforce their green initiatives to the community. But other districts are incorporating more sustainability and energy efficiency but not filing for LEED due to the paperwork and associated costs.
HKS still finds clients want sustainability. It designed the new University of Texas at Arlington special events center to achieve LEED silver certification.
“There’s a huge social consciousness among our clients now that every one is doing all they can to reduce [use] of carbon-based fuels in our buildings,” Hawkins says.
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