CROWN POINTE ACADEMY (K-2)
Longmont, CO
VIEW PERMIT SET
(Render - Main Entrance Canopy at Child Drop-off Loop)
This K-2 educational facility was my first experience with a project affected by multiple permitting AHJs and their unique Child-Safety and code requirements.
As any Architect can attest to, you can end up in quite a bind when two separate decision-makers make demands at odds with each other. Typically, that conflict occurs between Client Requests and Code requirements—but here, the AHJ's requests were the contradictions. Ultimately, Child Care code requirements ending up driving the designs and fixtures of the Pre-K and Kindergarten spaces while IRC controlled the Business and other Education occupancies.
Outside of the challenges, this project had plenty opportunities for exceptional design and personal growth. The opportunity to design Custom graphics and reveals in the Stucco Facades and develop branded signage for the Academy reminded me that Architecture is ultimately a business of people, and the most satisfaction you can achieve is reinforcing a client's identity, image & beliefs through their new Architectural home. All material selections were carefully made to reflect the colors, scale and interests of the younger student body.
My contributions to this project were primarily—but not limited to—as follows:
-
COORDINATION | Ensured Thermal Envelope and Waterproofing requirements were maintained at wood-stud to steel superstructure transitions, HVAC and RTU penetrations and supports, through-wall Scuppers, and canopy roofs.
-
CUSTOM GRAPHICS | Provided unique Stucco reveals and milled-Aluminum Signage to assist the Academy in re-branding their professional image at this New Built structure.
-
BUILT-INS | In addition to vetting and improving typical details, I developed unique details for Tiered Seating and Performance Platforms, under-stage retractable chair-storage carts and doors, through-wall transactional windows, and much more.
-
FINISHES | Compiled, vetted + verified, and specified an entire physical collection of Interior and Exterior Finish samples
(Physical Material Board - Exterior Wall Finishes [Top], Restroom Tile & Wall Coverings [Center], & Interior Finishes [Bottom])
Different strategies were used for selecting Material and Color pallets for the Exterior, restrooms, and Standard Interior Spaces respectively.
EXTERIOR
Respect had to be paid to the neutral Greys and Blues of the existing facility across the street, whose mid-century facade contained subtle, yet classic materials, including: several textured CMU products, sand-blasted Stucco panels, and short-exposure horizontal siding. A clear theme of high-relief materials was recognized—and expounded on—with Split Face and Fluted CMU block, loud and quiet colorways for Stucco accents, stacked Fiber-Cement siding, and new vertical Corrugated Metal siding that adds additional depth to the straight, rectilinear Elevations.
Following the theme of relief, our team employed high-width Stucco reveals along the Southern elevation to create the appearance of white Aspen trees in a field of blue stucco. Custom reliefs resembling Cougars—the Academy mascot—scamper and scale through the trees, creating an eye-catching monument directly next to the Site entrance.
A cantilevered and angled canopy projects from the building, soaring above the drop-off area and directing foot traffic towards the main entrance. This sharp and proud element is highly visible and lies directly ahead from the Site Entry, making it impossible to mistake the Academy's front door.
(Interior Elevations - Restrooms)
RESTROOMS
The visual intrigue and full pallet of materials aren't revealed upon first glance, but instead when one fully enters the space. Upon first inspection, a student will see the grey hues of the Quarry floor tiling and striping of the Water Resistant Wall coverings. As they begin to enter, they will discover these materials make way for color-coded Wall Tiles, vertical signage and Pendant lights meant to denote the individually-gendered restrooms. The space flows naturally from Corridor, to separated sink spaces that allow for adult supervision, and finally into the private restroom stalls. This was a unique compromise crafted to allow the requirements of the Academy's preferred operations—direct supervision of handwashing—and the County Health Departments mandates—no direct sightlines into the restrooms —to coexist with a harmonious and efficient design.
STANDARD INTERIORS
The interiors presented our team a greater opportunity to enlist a roster of vibrant and highly-textured materials that would be attention-grabbing to the young children running and learning amongst while staying reserved and chic enough as to not bother the adult faculty. Various accent colors at the LVT hallways are used to denote entrances to classrooms and preferred paths of travel. They direct attention towards individual learning spaces and break up the length and monotony of corridors. [see Finish Plan below]
Wood-look Laminates are specified at multiple assembly spaces [1 & 2 below] across the academy, where tiered platforms offer areas for play time or informal lectures outside of the typical classrooms.
1
2
(Finish Plan)
2 | Flow Diagram - Learning Hub - Play Area vs. Circulation
1 | Render - Cafeteria & Performing Arts Stage
2 | Render - Learning Hub - Tiered Seating & Library
FLOOR PLAN
The one-story academy consists of 14 dedicated Classroom spaces meant to serve a Child-Care and School-Age student body from Pre-K to Grade 2.
Pre-K, Kindergarten and Administration spaces are located to the Plan East of the main Circulation axis. The Cafeteria, Grade 1 and 2, and Music/Art classrooms are located to the Plan West. All breakout and public lecture areas are located along this programmatic core of the Circulation axis.
(Overall Floor Plan)
(Overall and Enlarged Reflected Ceiling Plans)
With respect to the project budget, we exercised restraint towards the finishes and lighting in the Classrooms. and instead saved the decorative lighting and premium ceiling finishes for the Cafeteria, Learning Hub, and the soffits of the Exterior entrance canopies. Vibrant, geometiric lights in the Learning Hub and impact-resistant finishes in the Cafeteria allow the children to embrace any activity without fear of boredom or damage.
DETAILS
I ensured Thermal Envelope and Waterproofing requirements were maintained at wood-stud to steel superstructure transitions, HVAC and RTU penetrations and supports, through-wall Scuppers, and canopy roofs. This required a healthy dose of coordination with the Structural team to reach a compromise between simplified Structural framing details and the continuity of Waterproofing and Insulation elements.
With Building Elevations that stressed a lot of material relief and custom patterns, I had to develop a suite of details to explain these complex conditions and put a lot of thought into methods of weather-proofing these transitions.
In addition to vetting and improving typical details, I developed unique details for Tiered Seating and Performance Platforms, under-stage retractable chair-storage carts and doors, through-wall transactional windows, and much more.
(Details - Roof Fascias, Connections to Exterior Walls & Parapets)
(Details - [Clockwise] - Roof Access Hatch, Two (2) Roof Connection at Parapet Wall, RTU-Screen Mounting Curb, & Storefront to Underside of Ceiling and Soffit