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June 2020 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 55 E very once in a while, you work on a project that truly exemplifies what absolute cooperation can ac- complish. Cooperation between the construction and design teams, between that team and the owner, be- tween the owner and the community … the list goes on. Front Range Community College Grays Peak Health Care Careers Center was one such project. From the beginning, the project set out to create an unparalleled learning experience for students. The team was determined to fig- ure out exactly what the students needed – not just what designers and administrators thought or assumed the students needed. Front Range Community College and architect Hord Coplan Macht held “lis- tening sessions” with the students to understand their top priorities. The team – FRCC, HCM and Haselden – toured four colleges on the East Coast with similar programs to find out what was working and what wasn’t, what their stu- dents found useful, and what changes they would make. The campuses we visited (George Washington University, Hartford Community College, Northern Virginia Community College, and University of Maryland School of Medicine and Nursing) were all very forthcoming and accommodating – a great example of inter-scho- lastic cooperation. We came away from our East Coast tour with a better sense of how to fulfill our students’ needs so they can fulfill the needs of the community when they graduate. Dr. Jean Runyon, vice president of the FRCC Larimer campus, noted that the mis- sion and vision of their community college is to create the most well-prepared workers. The vision for this project in particular started with trying to meet a cur- rent and future community need for health care providers – a need that is evident now more than ever. “As a community college, we really rely on our community partners and are very responsive to community needs when developing new pro- grams,” she said. Constructing the most effective learning environment for the students and supporting the collaborative relationship with the community is a team effort. The design-build process lent itself perfectly to this endeavor. The design-build process is inherently inclusive; everyone’s input and ideas were obtained early, allowing us to produce exactly what FRCC wanted and realize their overall vision for the project. Having our entire team working together from the get-go meant ongoing constructability reviews and discussions – one of the major benefits of design-build. Of course, this means less rework, which translates to more funds that can be devoted to wish list items. This degree of integration provided the teamwith camaraderie and an opportunity for collaboration that went a long way in determining the success of the project. “One thing I appreciate with Haselden and Hord Coplan Macht is that when they came together, this group really understood the vision for what we wanted this project to be,” Runyon said. “It’s not just the physical building, but it’s what takes FRCC Grays Peak Health Care Careers Center: A Study in Cooperation Colby Stodden Haselden Senior Project Manager, FRCC Design-Build Manager