Cameron Parish School District Warehouses
Alfred Miller Companies

Involved Companies

Background

Exactly one mile from the coast, where Hurricane Delta made landfall, are the Cameron Parish School District warehouses. Precast concrete walls and standing-seam metal roofs characterize both pre-engineered metal buildings.

The construction of a ramp up to the required 12-foot elevation for tractor-trailer truck deliveries posed the largest architectural issue in the CPSD project. An additional noteworthy obstacle was the somewhat isolated position. The closest batch facility for concrete was more than an hour away. Precast helped the project owners achieve all these design goals and offered added resiliency and durability. 

The new buildings stand in place of the earlier warehouse that Hurricane Rita destroyed. They are raised to reduce potential danger because they are situated right on the coastal highway. Their function is to hold dry products and frozen and chilled meals for Cameron Parish's school cafeterias.

Being in the direct line of Hurricanes Laura and Delta's eyewall and storm surge posed the greatest risk to the CPSD Warehouses. The Gulf of Mexico is observable from the building. By being elevated on precast piles helped keep the buildings away from storm surge and protected from water damage. The precast walls also gave additional protection for goods and personnel inside during the severe weather. 

The Cameron Parish School District warehouses are the perfect example of how precast can be used along coastlines and other areas that experience severe weather to construct structures that protect life.