As students prepare to return to classrooms across the country, school construction is also back in focus. Two recently completed projects show how precast concrete can help education facilities meet tight schedules while delivering distinctive architecture.

Montbello High School in Denver reopened after a decade-long closure with a $152 million renovation and expansion. The 25,799 m² (277,694 sf) project modernized the 40-year-old campus while adding classroom wings, a gymnasium, and administrative space. The project earned a 2026 PCI Design Award in the School (K-12) Building category.

The design team used 198 insulated architectural precast concrete panels to unify the existing and new construction. Acid-etched finishes, thin-brick accents, and two formliner patterns created a contemporary exterior while echoing the surrounding neighborhood.

Using precast concrete also helped the team work around an active school environment. The tight residential site required 205 truck deliveries and 246 precast pieces. A crane was repositioned 11 times. Crews completed the erection in just over a month, from February through March 2023. The load-bearing panels also support the steel structure and improve the building envelope’s energy performance.

Drosdick Hall expansion

At Villanova University in Pennsylvania, Drosdick Hall gives the College of Engineering a new 13,935 m² (150,000 sf) home. The $125 million project more than doubled the college’s main academic space and added more than 20 research laboratories. It also expanded laboratory space by 60 percent. The project was recognized with a 2026 PCI Design Award in the Higher Education/University Building category.

The project team selected precast to blend the new facility with Villanova’s traditional Gothic architecture. Thin veneer stone helped achieve that continuity, while off-site fabrication allowed precast production to proceed alongside foundation, steel, and decking work.

The site presented its own challenges. A one-lane road provided access to only two sides of the crane, and grading and staging areas were limited. Still, crews installed the precast exterior in eight weeks. Three large, joint-free chimneys were assembled from multiple panels, clad in stone, and installed as single roof-level units.