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| Completion Date: | 1998 | ||
| Location: | Louisville, Colorado | ||
| Description: |
Once a stretch of prairie with a former coal mine beneath it, this 80-acre site on 88th Street in Louisville was transformed into a unified school campus for the Boulder Valley School District containing both a K-8 school and a high school. The Monarch K-8 School, which opened in September 1997, and Monarch High School, which opened September 1998, recently were given those names officially by the school board in recognition of the old Monarch mine, which was closed and capped years ago. The buildings were designed by two different architectural firms, Nixon Johnson Architectural Associates, and Klipp Colussy Jenks DuBois Architects, with differing philosophies on school planning. Design Concepts' goal was to provide a cohesive framework for the diverse needs of each school, while minimizing conflicts between the different age groups, and providing each school with an identity of its own.
The landscape architecture created the common thread in uniting the campus in an environmental approach to landscape design. The landscaping, pedestrian paths, and site furnishings link the two styles of architecture and shared features such as athletic fields and the bus drop-off area. A pedestrian/bike path connects to an underpass linking the neighborhoods. Berming and landscaping was provided to buffer the campus from the nearby residents. Flowering trees and other plants unite other shared features such as a paved community "plaza" and the amphitheater, which will be used for outdoor learning, gatherings, and performances. A lighted loop walk from the parking lot to the activity areas is planted with "Prairiefire" crabapples, which create a profuse, flowing path in the spring. The site conserves water and cleanses run-off through the use of native grasses on the perimeter and by the creation of wetlands containing native plants in drainage and detention areas and in the bus drop-off circle. The architectural designs and materials, such as buff and red-clay-colored concrete block and green, metal, arched roofs, suggest the prairie and the region's homesteading past. The high school campus has extensive sports facilities, including track, football, softball, baseball, tennis, and basketball. The K-8 has softball, joint use football and soccer fields, play pads, and apparatus areas. Signage for both schools is unified to promote a campus feel. The extensive landscaping for developed green areas, and surrounding native areas with detention capabilities give this site the finishing touch to create an exciting new campus for Boulder Valley School District. |
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