School to reconstruct science facilities
The new 500 building is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2021.
The school provided a virtual tour of the new science building on social media.
One of the oldest buildings on Diamond Bar High School’s campus, the 500 building, has recently gone under construction to become the school’s new science building. This facility will replace the current science classrooms in the 400 building.
“We really need to update the plumbing and gas line in [the 400 building],” Instructional Dean for Science Nicole Cabase said. “If you’ve ever been in any of our science classrooms, sometimes we have leaks and things like that, but that will all be brand new so it’ll be really great.”
The building will have brand new features like heat resistant countertops, lab table setups, state of the art technology, a central meeting area where teachers can collaborate and central access to stock rooms, so teachers won’t have to walk through each other’s classrooms to access them.
“It’s going to be beautiful, I’m very excited,” Cabase said. “The thing I’m probably most excited about is the fact that there is no longer carpet in a science building; it’s all hardwood flooring, which is awesome.”
Another attribute of the new facility is that each classroom will cater to the specific type of science taught. Chemistry rooms will have a lecture space and a separate lab space. Physics rooms will have mobile desks that can be moved to create space for experiments. In total, the building will have around 15 to 20 classrooms.
According to Cabase, this project has been in the making for at least three years. The first step was to find an architect who could make the vision for the building a reality. Then, the plan had to get approved by the state. Following its approval, the plan was sent to construction firms to get bids on how much the project would cost. The final step was reviewing the bids and making the final decision to begin construction. Throughout the whole process, the science teachers have been asked to give their input to figure out what technology is needed and what classroom setup would be best for the building.
“We’ve actually really done it as a collaborative group effort, so I think everybody is really going to be happy with this building,” Cabase said.
For all of the renovations being made to the DBHS campus, including the construction of the new music building and the remodeling of the 400 and 500 buildings, the total cost is around $50 million. The construction of the 500 building will take approximately 18 months, which means that the chain-link fences surrounding the building will stay up during that time as well.
After the 500 building is completed, the school’s next construction project is renovating the 400 building for history and English classes.
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