Story

No one thought Loudoun County Public Schools could pull it off. Given an exceedingly tight schedule, the DMV construction community as a whole had decided that this project could not be built and delivered on time. As a result, no other contractors dared to even submit a bid. But one company stepped up. Shockey bid on the job, won the job, value-engineered the job to bring it within budget, and built the job — all on time and in record time, with the school opening right on track at the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. Shockey also completed associated site infrastructure for two future schools that will eventually share the campus. The design used the topography of the site and the grade of the mountain to inform the layout and use of the land. Prior to construction of the building, 400,000 cubic yards of material was blasted, crushed and moved (including 90,000 cubic yards of rock blasting.) Named for the high ridge that borders the site, the new 210,650-square-foot Watson Mountain Middle School is the first to utilize Loudoun County’s new four-story middle school prototype. With capacity for 1,445 sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders, the school includes classrooms, a media center, a cafeteria, an auditorium, main and auxiliary gyms, and athletic fields. The building is divided into three sub-units, one for each grade level, called “houses”. Each academic house highlights open meeting spaces and workrooms to inspire learning and collaboration. Down the hall from the main entrance (on the third floor) is a terrace with a succulent garden that provides natural light — through solar tubes — to the upper levels, as well as to the lower-level hallway and library. All core classrooms have windows. Built-in benches near the windows along the third-floor hallways allow students to gather and work while looking out onto the terrace. The school’s auditorium, designed with a separate entrance for performances, is also on the third floor. The first floor features the cafeteria, art rooms, career and technical education classes, a space for robotics, and a family and consumer sciences kitchen. From the media center to the lunchroom, every space is optimized to promote a sense of community. While this school merits attention for achievements on several fronts, it’s the warp-speed, critical path, fast-track scheduling success that makes this project truly exemplary. It was all made possible because of focus and experience, with the entire team dedicated to a single goal – delivering a top-quality school on time. Shockey (the contractor) and Stantec (the architect) had previous working relationships with each other and with Loudoun County Public Schools. Those longstanding relationships, and the confidence it fostered, mattered. When time is tight and the work needs to be exceptional — accountability and trust are everything. Watson Mountain Middle School is a testament to the power of true partnership; the team came together to deliver a successful project in remarkable time.