Public Works/Maintenance Facility Design Essentials – Part 2 (Screen Resources)

Concealing back of yard resources creates a more appealing and orderly appearance.

Populations grow, roads deteriorate, trees rot, and snow and ice wreak havoc. Through it all, public works and campus maintenance professionals strive to keep their communities running smoothly.

However, many budget-strapped agencies struggle to find ways to store materials and other “back of yard” resources. Often, this results in unsightly storage areas that are in plain view of the general public. Fortunately, thoughtful design of public works/maintenance facilities can cost effectively address this problem. As an example, we turn to the College of DuPage (COD).

The College of DuPage’s operations department materials, once visible to passersby, are now hidden behind a 14-foot-high wall of decorative precast concrete.

For years, COD’s facilities operations department was housed in an old gym. The department, long overdue for a new facility, resorted to improvising material storage bins. Unfortunately, the public could see the bins as they passed the facility. This didn’t fit with the attractiveness of the rest of the campus.

View behind the materials screen wall at the COD Campus Maintenance Center.

The college’s new Campus Maintenance Center has an assigned zone for materials storage . . . plus we created a tall wall of ornamental precast concrete that screens the area from the street.

Learn more about the Campus Maintenance Center’s precast concrete.

Get tips on creating efficient and attractive public works/maintenance facilities without breaking the budget.

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