by Drew Faulconer, Southern Air Richmond Mechanical Construction Manager
For nearly a century, Saint Gertrude High School, Virginia's only all-girls Catholic preparatory day school, thrived in Richmond's Museum District. After years of sharing a building with Benedictine College Preparatory, Saint Gertrude moved into its own new 51,000-square-foot building while paying homage to its original home. The school's internal design team began planning in 2020, aiming to have all students under their own roof by the 2023-2024 academic year.
Preserving Spanish Revival Architecture
Founded by the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia in 1922, Saint Gertrude's new building preserves the Spanish Revival architecture of the original structure. With a grand tower adorned with a visible cross, rounded arches, and a red tile roof, the three-story building echoes the school's heritage. The relocation included the original 1922 altar, Stations of the Cross, and stained glass and rose windows akin to the original chapel overlooking the James River.
The Great Hall serves as a gathering space for all students, where they pray, celebrate achievements, and coordinate daily events. The hall has thirty-foot-tall windows, a stone fireplace, comfortable seating, and a student café. Students also have a dedicated dining hall, a feature the old school lacked.
The Mechanical and Plumbing Scope
General Contractor Taylor and Parrish Construction awarded Southern Air the mechanical and plumbing scopes of work. The plan and specification job included the mechanical design for the project revolving around packaged Rooftop Units (RTUs) with Variable Air Volume (VAV) distribution. To provide heating capabilities, the VAVs were equipped with electric heat. On the plumbing side, the design included bathrooms, a small prep kitchen, safety fixtures for science labs, a domestic water booster pump, and a domestic hot water system.
Leading BIM Coordination for Every Trade
Southern Air used Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology to coordinate conflicts, resulting in a nearly issue-free construction process. Recognizing the strength of Southern Air's BIM capabilities, Taylor and Parrish Construction entrusted Southern Air with the lead role in managing BIM and coordinating with all other subcontractors. Southern Air Design Detailer Kendall Tinnell took on this responsibility and excelled, resolving conflicts proactively, even before construction commenced.
Running Supply Air Underground
The project was greatly influenced by architectural requirements, which called for unique solutions. One such example was the installation of underground Blue Duct, which efficiently provided supply air to the Great Hall, the focal point of the building. Duct work is typically found above a room, however buildings like churches, museums, or Saint Gertrude's have floor-to-ceiling glass walls and architectural ceilings. One of the most common ways to overcome space constraints for duct work is going underground, taking advantage of space typically unused.
“Working on the Saint Gertrude job was an educating and rewarding experience,” says Tinnell. “Having never seen this application before and reading through submittal documents and additional information online, I was able to become more familiar with underground blue duct and help assist the design team. The wood architecture features located within the ‘Great Room’ would have been overshadowed with the industry standard sheet metal and would have taken up a lot of space overhead. With the blue duct design, they were able to take the duct underground, under slab and have registers located in the floor to supply air to the space.”
What the General Contractor Said
Throughout the project, Southern Air's team delivered one of the most professional and clean executions of work witnessed in the industry. Both Taylor and Parrish and Saint Gertrude praised Southern Air's performance. Our teams received countless expressions of gratitude for their proactive approach to conflict resolution before construction even began.
“Southern Air did an outstanding job at Saint Gertrude,” says Matt Owen, Taylor & Parrish Construction superintendent. “They acted with professionalism and precision while executing their scope of work. They communicated well and worked with everyone as a team as it should be. I look forward to working with Drew Faulconer and his Southern Air team on the next project.”
The project involved a team of dedicated Southern Air professionals, including Plumbing Foreman Jake Riddle, Sheet Metal Foreman Rick Taylor, and Commissioning Foreman John Weedon, who played central roles in the success of their respective areas.
Students now attend a school prominently visible from Richmond's Veterans Bridge, sitting high above the James River Valley. This is a project our Southern Air tradespeople walked away from with their heads held high. We cannot thank or praise our teams enough for their hard work building this modern all-girls Catholic school while preserving its extraordinary history.
Interested in joining a team that takes on projects like this? See our open positions.
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