Weatherford College Vickie & Jerry Durant Hall
Weatherford, Texas
Expertise
- Education
Services
- civil engineering
- structural engineering
- landscape architecture
- land surveying
Size
- 57,000 SF
BHB provided comprehensive land surveying, civil and structural engineering, and landscape architecture services for Weatherford College’s Vickie & Jerry Durant Hall, a 57,000-square-foot, four-story residence hall dedicated to Honors Program students and athletes. This residence hall primarily features four-bedroom apartment-style units to accommodate 116 students. Each unit includes private bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a common living area, and a kitchenette.
The building, decked with high-end finishes throughout, also offers multiple shared laundry facilities, a grand two-story common area adorned with a large fireplace and antler chandeliers, flexible meeting spaces, three floors of athletic weight and cardio rooms, an open roof deck, and an expansive front lawn for gatherings.
BHB’s land surveying scope encompassed the building site, an adjacent creek area, and the existing baseball field parking lot, totaling approximately six acres. Given the heavily wooded nature of parts of the site, a tree survey was conducted to comply with the City of Weatherford’s tree mitigation criteria.
BHB was integral in determining the building’s location and preparing the site, securing approval for shared parking with the adjacent baseball field, and upgrading public infrastructure to serve the residence hall. The site features over 17 feet of vertical fall, positioning the building five feet below the adjacent street corner, with grading resulting in an eight-foot-high retaining wall near a local creek.
Significant early efforts focused on grading concepts, shifting building positions, and recalculating earthwork volumes to find a cost-effective compromise. Even with a planned storm drain system surrounding the structure, positive overflow routes were consistently monitored. BHB conducted a flood study to establish project limits that would not affect the nearby creek. By repurposing an existing stock pond into a detention pond, we demonstrated no negative downstream impacts, thereby preserving existing trees and reducing costs. A public twelve-inch water main was also extended to meet the hall’s water needs.
At the owner’s request, our structural team designed the building using conventional steel instead of cold-formed steel or wood, ensuring longevity. To maintain cohesion with the adjacent Coyote Village residence hall, we incorporated sloped roofs, overhangs, and eaves, which posed challenges due to varying roof heights. Additional steel supports and detailing were necessary to sustain the multistory glass feature on the north side of the building, achieving the desired aesthetic.
The architect specified a column-free design for the weight room, allowing cardio equipment to overlook the space. This requirement necessitated deep structural members, which presented challenges given the low floor-to-floor heights typical in dorms. BHB meticulously refined the design and coordinated structural requirements with MEP and other architectural elements, as long spans can lead to vibration issues, especially in cardio areas. Ultimately, this project exemplified a delicate balance between aesthetics, strength, and comfort.
Key People
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Shannon L. Nave, PE, CFM
Shannon L. Nave, PE, CFM
Principal | Senior Civil Engineer
Shannon Nave’s desire is to use engineering to leave the world a better place than he found it and to help man live with nature and with each other. His extensive experience includes engineering design and project management for a significant variety of civil and water resource projects.
His wide-ranging experience in working for both consulting firms and as a municipal staff engineer includes flood studies, dam design and repair, expert witness testimony, and general civil projects encompassing designs for residential, commercial, educational, utility, and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP).
Shannon’s research and master’s thesis on storm water flow in streets and gutters led to UTA receiving a $450,000 grant from TxDOT to build a street section in the basement of the UTA Nedderman Hall to run full-scale tests.
Shannon lives in Parker County with his wife Anna and two sons; he enjoys cooking, reading, and working with the Cub Scouts.
Education
Tarleton State University:
Bachelor’s Degree/1996/Hydrology and Water Resources
University of Texas at Arlington:
Master’s Degree/2000/Civil Engineering: Water Resources -
Edward Chadwick, PE
Edward Chadwick, PE
Associate | Senior Civil Engineer
Edward discovered his passion for construction and building at a young age. While working for a commercial drywall installation company, he attended the University of Texas at Arlington where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
He found BHB to be a reputable company within the engineering community and amongst friends, and joined the firm in 2017 with 18 years of industry experience.
Despite being born in Scotland, Edward’s favorite place to visit is the Florida coastline to see its magnificent architecture and exotic plants, animals, and tree species. Edward enjoys taking his children hunting and fly fishing, which has inspired him to work towards becoming a professional fishing guide. He and his wife also have three dogs that complete the family.
Education
University of Texas at Arlington:
Bachelor’s Degree/2006/Civil Engineering
Texas Tech University:
Bachelor’s Degree/1998/Agricultural and Applied Economics -
Ronald Ishmael, PE, LEED AP
Ronald Ishmael, PE, LEED AP
Senior Associate | Structural Engineer
Growing up, Ronald’s family had strong ties to the construction industry and was often involved in some type of construction project – whether it be for a local nonprofit, family members, or the farm he lived on. In fact, his childhood home was a barn that his parents turned into a house. It comes as no surprise that Ronald knew he wanted a career in construction from a young age, and his success in mathematics pushed him toward engineering. He attended Texas A&M University to pursue a degree in construction management through the civil engineering department. During his last semester, however, the degree program was altered, and he decided to switch to the specialty of structural engineering. The unplanned change of course turned out to be exactly what Ronald had been looking for.
Now, he has garnered nearly 15 years of diverse industry experience and continues his journey at BHB as the firm’s first structural engineer. His background includes structural design services for new and existing buildings, structural assessments and evaluations, historic preservation, and forensic failure investigations. Ronald has experience with multiple construction materials such as steel, concrete, wood/timber, cold formed steel, ICF, foundations, and FRP, and has extensive experience in elevated concrete design. He is also heavily involved in the Fort Worth Structural Engineers Association of Texas (SEAoT) and is a past president of the International Concrete Repair Institute.
Outside of the office walls, Ronald spends his spare time with his wife, a high school anatomy and forensics teacher, and two children, Laykin and Cohen. He can often be found fishing, working on personal construction projects including his wife’s classroom, playing with his kids, and rooting for the Texas A&M football team. Ronald also enjoys traveling to unique places and finding activities that involve communicating and interacting with local residents. His recent expeditions include visiting off-the-path wineries in Napa and Sonoma, finding local hot spots in Alaska, and taking a road trip through the Philippines.
Education
Texas A&M University:
Bachelor’s Degree/2006/Civil Engineering
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Tom Kellogg, RLA
Tom Kellogg, RLA
Associate | Senior Landscape Architect
As a Landscape Architect, Tom Kellogg has experience working in a project management position for both multi-disciplinary firms and landscape architecture design firms. His project history includes a wide variety of types, including parks and recreation, commercial landscape design, streetscapes, multi-family developments, and multimodal recreation trails.
Living only a mile away from our Grapevine office, Tom discovered BHB while he was riding his bike and instantly wished he could work here. As it turned out, BHB was looking for a landscape architect at the time, and the rest is history.
Outside of work Tom enjoys bicycling, something he’s loved doing since he was a kid. Tom also enjoys camping, traveling, visiting museums, and playing video games with his teenage son, Colin.
Project Experience
Imperial Construction Office and Shop
Monterra Medical Campus
Park Hill Surgery Center
The Bowden: Event & Weddings
Education
University of Arkansas:
Bachelor’s Degree/1982/Landscape Architecture