◆ Architecture
■ Master Planning
● Interior Design
■ Master Planning
● Interior Design
Cañon City Middle School Renovation & Addition Interiors
Cañon City,
Colorado
Originally constructed in 1925 to serve as the high school, Cañon City Middle School had undergone numerous additions and renovations over its 96-year history. After extensive analysis by the District of the condition and quality of the facility (especially as it related to its instructional environment), Cañon City Schools retained RTA in 2018 to renovate the building and design an addition for the school.
Education
Project Details
- Square footage: 70,378 sf
- 44,300 sf renovation
- 26,078 sf addition
- Project cost: $29.35M
Design Details
- BEST Grant assistance
- Multi-phase addition and renovation
- Occupied during construction
- LEED Silver certified
- Maker spaces
- Outdoor learning spaces and courtyard
- Reconfigured bus and parent drop-offs
- 21st Century classrooms with flexible furnishings
- Collaboration spaces for break-out sessions and small group learning
- Retention of historic elements of the original 1925 building
- A new Community Health Center focused on serving neighborhood families, parents, students and District staff
- Photography by David Lauer Photography
Materials were carefully selected to honor the 97-year original historic building and its importance to the Cañon City community. A frieze design from the historic exterior was replicated in the new main entry, and the new elevator shaft was wrapped in repurposed gymnasium wood flooring from the original building.
The new Library, located on the lower level of the historic building, celebrates the historic building while taking full advantage of natural daylight. 21st-century classrooms and the library feature flexible collaboration spaces for break-out sessions and small groups.
"This is truly a gift to the students of Cañon City and the community that will stand for many years to come.”
The central site feature of the new LEED Silver middle school campus is the courtyard, which connects the existing gymnasium, the 1925 historic high school, and the addition.
The Student Commons is designed to operate in a dual capacity as a commons/cafeteria as well as an auditorium for performances with retractable bleacher seating. As the “heart” of the school, it also has a direct connection to the courtyard.
The design was a fully collaborative effort completed with a 17-member Design Advisory Group (DAG). Student safety was on the minds of many DAG participants, and Prospect/Refuge Theory, which suggests that students require a balance of risk and safety to grow and thrive, inspired the design.
The design of the school represents this conflicting balance between risk and safety and between the past and the future. The historic building came to embody the stable, unchanging symbol of the past, while the new addition signified the future and exploration of the unknown.