CREJ

46 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / December 2021 Office | Restaurant/Retail | Tele/Data | Financial | Education | Aerospace/Defense Institutional | Remodel | New Building Construction After Before jordyconstruction.com ELEMENTS School Design Adapting Educational Facilities in an Unpredictable Market C olorado has a vast inventory of exist- ing school facilities built over the last century that do not support the needs of contemporary learning. Now faced with a post-pandemicconstructionenvironment,we’re also experiencing unprecedented fluctuations in the cost of materials, unpredictable procurement lead times and uncertainty in the availability of skilled trades. These and other design trends have forced us all to get more creative. For years, Ratio has partnered with K-12 schools to enhance existing buildings for the future, nomat- terwhat itmay bring. Here are four successful strate- gies from creative schools that recently re-imagined their existing facilities: • Reinventing an ’80s gym to double as a con- temporary performance space. Flexibility will serve your community for decades. Without los- ing its multipurpose functionality as a competi- tion gymnasium, this creative upgrade reinvents a 1980s gym to meet the need for a contemporary performing arts space at a fraction of the cost of constructing a new arts facility. To create a the- atrical environment from the outside in, a new face for the building in the form of an outdoor plaza and addition now serve as the main entrance and theater lobby. A 30-foot opening was created in one wall of the gym to build the stage, support spaces, and a new music room. Light cages and audio rigs were installed within the existing joist bays, exten- sive acoustic treatment was added to the walls, and a bandshell was constructed above the new stage opening to project sound into the space. Max McCloskey, AIA Senior Associate, K-12 architecture, Ratio Mancos High School