Duvall Decker was commissioned by the Mississippi Air National Guard, 172d Airlift Wing, at the Jackson International Airport, Jackson, Mississippi to design a new Small Arms Training Facility. The 13,557-square-foot facility includes 14 lanes and classroom training spaces as well as other control and support spaces.
The facility structure is supported with 8” thick tilt-up concrete load-bearing wall panels connected and bridged by a steel truss structure. The steel structure also supports an angled steel plate ceiling system that directs the trajectory of spent ammunition to the rear catchment system. The range space is only ventilated with air moving across the lanes from fans located on a mechanical platform above the support spaces. The ventilation moves all smoke, dust, and lead particles away from the guard personnel to the air filter system at the rear of the facility. Spent ammunition is collected and recycled. All ballistic-safe surfaces are covered with acoustic-dampening insulation. The classroom and training spaces located at the front of the range are environmentally separated and conditioned.
The building envelope is designed to minimize interior heat gain and moisture intrusion. The range east and west walls are designed as brick veneer vented rainscreens over insulation which allows constant convection to minimize heat transfer into the tilt up concrete structure and interior. The roof is a floating standing seam metal system over insulation which also limits heat gain. The southern-facing glazing of the classroom is screened by a perforated metal sunshade allowing ample natural light without solar gain. The envelope strategies have proven to be highly effective in maintaining comfortable temperatures in the unconditioned range space and minimizing energy consumption in the conditioned education and support spaces thus avoiding the effects of the southern hot humid climate.
The masonry work is crafted from dark, iridescent brick to optically transform the building’s presence depending on the season, weather, and one’s approach. Two long, solid walls on the east and west (where the range function restricts the use of windows) incorporate pilasters that cast deep shadows on the face of the building. The series of pilasters transition from wider to increasingly narrower spacing toward the shorter end of the building’s long low-sloping sides and horizontal brick insets are placed at increasing increments as they move up the wall. The articulation of the building is a study of perceptual stability. The movement and pace change of the brickwork challenge the perceptual resolution of the dimensions of the building.
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