Construction is progressing on schedule on the 52,000-square-foot Health/Physical Sciences
Complex, which will house classrooms, lab and offices for the forensic technology, physics
and health professions programs. Below-ground electrical and plumbing work has been
completed. Steel has been erected and concrete and masonry walls have reached full height.
Floor slabs are being poured. Restoration of the staff parking lot is underway, and the
courtyard atrium is taking shape. Construction began in July 2008, and completion
is scheduled for March 2010.
Impacted departments are eagerly looking forward to teaching students using the latest teaching
tools and equipment, including simulation labs with lifelike mannequins for nursing, a casting
room for the orthopedic technology program, a mock apartment for occupational therapy assistant,
a blood-spatter room for forensic technology, simulated ICU patient stations with ventilators
for respiratory therapy and a rooftop deck for astronomy.
The building funded by state and local Proposition R bond monies is primarily made of masonry, concrete and structural steel.
The following are some interesting construction facts based on input provided by Jim Davies,
Program/Senior Project Manager with Gafcon, Inc., GCCCD’s Program/Project management firm:
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The building is composed of approximately 45,000 masonry bricks (4” tall x 16” long x 8” deep).
If stacked end to end, the bricks would stretch 11.36 miles, which is roughly the distance
between Grossmont College and Downtown San Diego.
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If the bricks were stacked on top of one another, they would reach an equivalent height of
approximately 2.8 miles, which is as high as Mt. Whitney, the highest summit in the
contiguous United States (14,505 feet).
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The building construction will include approximately 1,893 cubic yards of concrete blocks.
If stacked in 1-cubic-foot increments, the blocks would reach 9.5 miles high in the sky.
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The building will be comprised of 673,000 pounds (336 tons) of structural and reinforced steel.
This is the equivalent weight of 448 automobiles (if each car weighed 1,500 pounds).
