CREJ

December 2021 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 47 INFRASTRUCTURAL RENEWAL. ALIGNED VISIONS. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS. SOLVING YOUR MOST COMPLEX CHALLENGES. With SEH, you are a true partner and collaborator. Engineers | Architects | Planners | Scientists 800.325.2055 | sehinc.com/ subscribe ELEMENTS School Design • Celebrating a historically recognized basketball arena with a new lobby and interior renovation. Understanding the history, dreams and influences of a community is equal- ly important to the design process as considering the needs of each user. On the sameMancos campus, renovation of the historic Mancos gymnasium represents another creative solution for thoughtful and cost effective modernization of facilities. The gym is listed on the National Register of Historic Plac- es for its unique tongue-and-groove pine-barrel vaulted ceil- ing and curved glulambeams. Despite the community’s love for the building, varsity sports were no longer permitted to compete in the gym due to accessibility violations and in- ability to meet state athletic regulations. Adhering to histor- ic preservation guidelines, an addition to the gymnasium distinct from the original barrel form helped resolve these challenges while celebrating its historical significance. • Planned expansion of new K-12 facilities. Designing schools to receive planned additions provides an econom- ical and efficient solution to our Colorado school districts that are experiencing rapid population growth. Great effi- ciencies also can be realized by utilizing an AEC team with institutional knowledge of the design and construction of the original facility. Ratio worked closely with GH Phipps Construction and Denver Public Schools to design and build an addition that housed a new middle school wing for the Inspire Elementary school completed in 2018. Capitalizing on the architectural identity of the elementary, Ratio was able to expedite the technical components of the design process using existing details and dedicate more design thinking toward curating learning environments to the unique needs of the middle school population. • Modernizing security design with a new student com- mons . Providing flexiblemultipurpose spaces in our schools today is critical to support a variety of learning modalities and reflect the environments our students will experience in higher education and the workplace. Many districts are interested in adding these spaces to traditional facilities, and as a benefit to construction costs, universal learning spaces can typically be built at a lower price point given that they are largely open, with a variety of furniture solu- tions to utilize the space in multiple ways. Working with District 27J and Saunders Construction, Ra- tio designed a 3,000-square-foot student commons addition on the Prairie ViewHigh School campus inHenderson to an- swer the school’s request for gathering and informal learn- ing spaces while solving major bottlenecks in the flow of students. Enhanced security is embedded into the addition through the design of a single, central entry vestibule with an adjacent SRO office and a storefront façade that creates moments of refuge while allowing abundant natural light into the space. \\ mmcloskey@ratiodesign.com