After 15 years of planning, College of the Sequoias, a public two-year community college located in Visalia, California has a brand new agricultural complex.
The $77 million campus sits on 120 acres and consists of 165,000-square-feet of instructional space, many built from concrete masonry units manufactured by CPG member Basalite, one of the largest suppliers of concrete masonry products in the western United States.
David A. Willis, Basalite’s architectural sales representative, says the project is called the Tulare Center Farm Animal & Ornamental Horticulture Complex.
“We supplied concrete masonry units for several of the buildings for this massive project which includes administrative, student service and instructional facilities,” he says. “We also supplied CMU for the animal science facilities. This animal complex includes Equine, Swine, Sheep, Veterinary, Reproduction, Stallion, and a Show Pavilion.”
Willis says Spec-Finish®, an extremely durable coated concrete masonry wall system, is used throughout the new animal science complex. “Spec-Finish was selected because of the concerns of the school to keep the walls clean where animals are housed. Since Spec-Finish creates an impermeable surface over the entire CMU wall, it was a perfect choice for that application,” he says.
Spec-Finish is a great solution for interior wall finishes and is perfect for veterinary facilities like those located within the Tulare Farm Animal & Ornamental Horticulture Complex. The combination of extremely smooth textured block and high performance coatings results in a coated wall system that minimizes the need for application of filler layers and minimizes cost.
“All the block for the interior walls are a special mix design manufactured specifically to receive the Tnemec coatings,” says Willis. “Spec-Finish block are pre-conditioned to create a higher density and tighter finish to improve on the coating’s final finish. Spec-Finish Level II was used to provide a pin-hole free, cleanable surface and two Tnemec colors were used. All of exterior walls were painted, but were not required to be Spec-Finish unless there would be animals present,” he says.
The college, named for the Giant Sequoia trees native to the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range, just completed its first semester of instruction in the brand new facility.
Willis says buildings on the new campus were also designed with other Basalite architectural concrete masonry products including traditional smooth and split-face block, as well as scored and fluted units. “Concrete Masonry offers unmatched design versatility and durability. We’re certain this long-anticipated campus will serve students for decades to come.”
