The replacement facility for the existing Glenwood Springs High school represents the latest in constructionist, experiential educational curriculum models. Based on Howard Garners' “Multiple Intelligences”, and “Consillience” by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Edward O. Wilson, the facility merges the concepts of mind, soul, and body into a cohesive, collaborative framework of relational spaces and overlapping uses.
The building acts as a spring-board for the students, suggesting the west-ward path of new directions. Sited within the Roaring Fork Valley, the building conjures images of the nearby Glenwood Canyon, and creates outdoor learning spaces, both surface and suspended, between classroom wings. An integral part of the many sustainable features of the building, these reconnect the occupants to the natural world and provide student areas of study and collaboration.
The 134,000 SF building features a shared community theater and commons, primary and auxiliary gymnasiums, and classrooms for 1,200 students. The building features ice-storage and 'chimney effect' cooling, and is fully day-lit in all classrooms. At the time of it’s construction in 2004 the building was know as one of the most sustainable schools west of the Mississippi. (executed with RTA Architects)
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