Spokane Public School District – Denny Yasuhara Middle School

Spokane Public School’s Denny Yasuhara Middle School is designed to be a safe space where every student is heard, understood, and cherished. Coffman provided civil and structural design services for the new ~$70M site and middle school. This two-story school includes learning neighborhoods, nutrition commons, band, choir, art, pre-engineering, and other specialty services, a gym, locker rooms, offices, and facility operation and maintenance spaces.

Coffman’s civil team was responsible for site demolition, major utility rerouting, new utility installations, site grading, storm drainage systems, and new site improvements, including bus/fire lanes, parking lots, sports playfields, outdoor play areas, outdoor career and technical education yard, student courtyards, kitchen delivery areas, trash enclosures, mechanical and electrical yards, and perimeter sidewalks. A few unique challenges the civil team overcame during this project included environmental work dealing with contaminated soils, working around a partially occupied site, and preserving and reestablishing a benchmark elevation on a county groundwater monitoring well.

Structural engineering and design elements included a blend of concrete masonry bearing walls and structural steel framing, structural framing for clerestory windows between lower and higher roof planes, and large roof openings with translucent panels allowing daylight to reach the interior of the building. Intentional detailing of the interior exposed braced frames connecting one-story areas of the building to the two-story commons space was also included. Learning stair areas incorporated with stairs between the first and second floors were incorporated into the commons and in each of the three learning neighborhoods.