Austin Community College - Round Rock Campus

Round Rock, TX

Mason Contractor: Brazos Masonry, Inc.
Architect: Graeber Simmons & Cowan
General Contractor: Spaw Glass
Suppliers: Elgin-Butler Brick Co. ; Acme Brick Company ; Ali Dabaja Do Pllc ; Tim Weirauch Masonry ; SPEC MIX LLC ; Hohmann and Barnard, Inc. ; Tailored Foam, Inc. ; United Commercial Cast Stone
Owner: Austin Community College

Wall System: Cavity Wall: Brick Veneer/Steel Stud

Project Description

Round Rock, Texas, known as a “super suburb” is now home to the sprawling Austin Community College (ACC) Round Campus. Located on 84 acres, the campus provides comprehensive higher education programs and services to more than 5,000 students. There are future plans for an additional expansion to accomodate 11,500 students.

This unique five (5) building campus, about 279,000 square feet, offers a one-of-a-kind feel using masonry. The lofty bell tower excels as a focal point of the campus with matching CerraStone stair enclosures as a perfect compliment. Two (2) of the buildings are block structures and three (3) are a combination of masonry veneer on metal studs. While there were no major construction delays or obstacles, besides your Texas spring time thunderstorm or shower, three of the buildings were in progress simutaneously. The job also consisted of various site work including dumpster screens, columns, and radius pavilion and seat walls. Over 160,000 square feet of masonry encompass this campus, including two different colors of custom CMU from two different suppliers. Accurate coordination and communication from suppliers coupled with the Brazos Masonry three-week look-ahead schedule demonstrated tremendous ability to keep this large, fast-track project moving forward, despite rain delays.

ACC Round Rock Campus trumps other campuses in its proximity by using the unique product, CerraStone. This is a brand new product to the market and Brazos Masonry was the first to use this structural clay brick in Texas. CerraStone has an ultra matte textured finish that presents the characteristics of cut limestone. Over 20,000 square feet of CerraStone were laid in a true ashlar pattern (12 different sizes and color combinations) and had to be closely coordinated with the manufacturer. Each special condition required shop drawings and synchronization since the pattern did not always fit to the wall sizes shown on the drawings. Also, like all masonry products, CerraStone is ideal for sustainable environmintally-friendly projects. The ACC Round Rock campus was built to meet LEED standards and is currently waiting to receive its LEED certification.

Other products incorporated on the state-of-the-art campus included modular brick, custom CMU and grey CMU. The 470,000 modular red brick perfectly coordinate and accent the custom CMU and CerraStone. Overall, the ACC Round Rock campus is an exquisite, timeless and modern campus using new and innovative masonry products as well as the time honored classics like brick and block.

Date of Project Completion: July 2010

Photography by Norma Jean Bounds