Colorado Springs Academy, School District 20 (Design Competition, 2003)

Our proposal for the Academy District 20 new K-12 school integrates, interprets and enhances the remarkable landscapes and ecologies of the Front Range and recommends a design sensitive to the social contract of public education in this context. In response to the stated need for this new school located at the northernmost edge of the District, and seen as a catalyst for planned residential, commercial and leisure activities, the new buildings consolidate their program areas in the interest of integration within the site. This unique siting for the school marks the point where suburban development meets open ranch land to the North. Preservation of this open land in its natural state as an educational tool is at the heart of our project. By folding playing field over building area, classroom over common facility, site occupation is limited to areas south and east of an existing ridge. This allows the north half of the site, an area we are calling the Preserve, to remain unbuilt as open plains grasslands, montane shrubland, and a low land riparian ecosystem at the foot of the site. Importantly, site watersheds are managed by design resulting in 100% permeability and 0% discharge.Stitched to the site by pedestrian path, bike and automobile access, the elementary, middle and high schools are joined along the southern edge of the site, offering protection from the elements while presenting a common façade for the academic community.Joined by design, circulation and site economy, each school has a separate and distinct entry, dedicated "drop-off" areas, staff and visitor parking, and in the case of the High School, a student parking area.

A critical point in the school day for parent, child and administration is drop off and pick up. The entrance for each school is located in a unique courtyard within that school; and we have been careful to keep the division of age groups distinct. The respective classrooms, outdoor and indoor recreational spaces, administrative offices and school facilities all open onto these courtyards, which, while protected from the elements, can be easily supervised and provide a local sense of community for each school.The building and outdoor recreational areas terrace down the site toward the West, linking all program elements together and to the important ground, the Preserve, at the North side of the site. The Preserve organizes the overall site and establishes its ecology. It is an educational, recreational and natural system integrally tied to the project's form and operation. By accommodating their arrangement and relationships to the existing topography, each building's form is shaped by site. The natural slope of the land encourages universal access throughout the building. By maximizing day lighting, encouraging cross-ventilation and using local materials, building systems and materials follow the direction established by site and context.

These are ideas which represent an armature for further development in an iterative process through Client / Architect dialogue. Our proposal suggests a precedent for future institutions, one that fosters communality through the understanding of context in both the social and built environments