Architecture | High school » Jennifer Hayes - LOA Architecture Starts Design of High School Campus

Source: http://www.doksinet As appeared in www.crejcom FEBRUARY 5, 2014 – FEBRUARY 18, 2014 LOA Architecture starts design of high school campus by Jennifer Hayes Design is under way on the first high school campus to be built by Denver Public Schools in more than three decades. LOA Architecture PC has started the design of a new campus in the Stapleton/ Northfield neighborhood that at full build- out will serve 2,400 students. The three-building collegetype campus will sit on 20.65 acres at the southeast corner of 56th Avenue and Central Park Boulevard in Denver and is designed to foster studentteacher relationships in a 21st century environment. “The high school campus design competition in 2006 allowed Denver Public Schools to look at a variety of school design elements from around the country and determine what best fit our educational needs for the future,” said DPS Chief Operating Officer David Suppes. “LOA Architecture best addressed the architectural and phasing

requirements requested by our committee. We’re excited to have them integrate their design elements and DPS’s 21st Century Educational Facility Design Standards into a state-of-the-art learning facility.” “Smaller, flexible learning The new high school campus in the Stapleton/Northfield neighborhood will be the first high school campus to be built by Denver Public Schools since 1980. communities will be integrated to allow for more teacher and student interaction and oneon-one learning relationships,” said Timothy Habben, president of LOA Architecture, who will serve as the project manager. “Along with the DPS educational standards, LOA Architecture is including the use of 21st century technology to allow access for Internet, computer networks and electronic instructional techniques.” The campus, funded by the 2012 DPS Bond Program, is expected to open its first phase in August 2015. In addition to LOA Architecture, the design team includes H+L Architecture as the asso-

ciate architectural firm. In December, GE Johnson was selected as the construction manager/general contractor. The campus, yet to be named, features a small learning community (classrooms) comprising 83,000 gross square feet, commons of 38,618 gsf and gym of 48,700 gsf. Orientation of the two-story classrooms and one-story commons is on an east-west axis to maximize daylighting and controlled solar gain, according to LOA. The design also includes breakout alcoves for ongoing classroom activities, a two-story tech lab for robotics and exterior windows of classrooms that are 8 feet by 8 feet with solar devices to maximize and control the daylighting with Low-E glass. The building envelope is brick masonry. Phase 1 is projected to be able to serve 900 students, with an eventual enrollment capacity of up to 2,400 students at full build-out. LOA Architecture was chosen from among nine architectural firms in 2006 that competed in the high school campus design competition coordinated by The

Foundation for Educational Excellence, Denver Public Schools Department of Facility Management and The Stapleton Foundation.s