2023 Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston Golden Trowel Excellence Award: Educational Facility (K-12) Craftsmanship

>>> Gregory-Portland Middle School is one of the marquis educational facilities in a rapidly developing area of the Gulf Coast. The modern building exhibits masonry in a good light by showcasing how different masonry colors, materials, patterns, and depths can positively affect the visual appeal of a building.

The exterior façade consists of two colors of brick that complement each other in the different accents built into the design. In addition to the two color brick façade, areas of the building have a blue glazed utility brick veneer installed in a stack bond pattern.  The majority of the back-up for the exterior façade was structural CMU.  CMU was also used for the interior non-load bearing partition walls. 

As a primarily CMU structure with over 255,000 units, schedule was critical from the start.  Camarata Masonry Systems, Ltd. (CMS) was tasked with getting large quantities of CMU installed in a short period of time to allow other trades to begin their work.  Because all exposed CMU surfaces were to be painted, extra care was taken during installation in these areas. 

The exterior façade design required various areas to protrude from the face of the wall along with typical and atypical patterns worked into the design using relief and/or contrasting color.  For example, one elevation of the building utilizes the darker brick in bands that increase in width as the eye moves from the right side of the façade to the left while the adjacent elevation features bands of the lighter brick color in a similar pattern.  In total, there were over 225,000 brick units installed.

At the main entry and within the brick façade, blue glazed utility brick is utilized in conjunction with the clay units.  Some special shapes were required at sills and corners.  Over 18,000 glazed brick units were installed in a stacked bond pattern.