A community center that doubles as an above ground tornado shelter. The 2400 sf building houses a large common room, a kitchen, bathrooms, a shower, and an Emergency Command Center. The walls are made up of 12″ CMU with bar & concrete filling every cell. The concrete elevated roof slab rest on a metal deck & steel beams and is more than 12″ thick. The structure contains over 22,000 pounds of steel reinforcing and over 200 cubic yards of concrete. This project was funded by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Click below to see larger images or return to projects.