Project Description
The Colorado Academy (CA) is an independent Pre-K – 12 college preparatory day school founded in 1906. The school is located on a wooded, 94-acre campus in the Southwest Denver area. The total student population is roughly 1,000 students across all grades. Each school division, Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools, has its own building on the campus with all dining, library, athletic and arts spaces shared across all age levels. The Ponzio Arts Center, the campus’ multi-discipline arts hub, has evolved over the years from what was once a dormitory building into its current function as the campus’ arts building. Colorado Academy’s programs and students have embraced the art building and it has become a key center of student life in recent years, thus the CA administrative team was compelled to re-envision this historic campus building and adapt it to meet the school’s current and future needs. The total project included the renovation of the historic structure as well as the design of an addition for expanded capacity. The team thus focused on revitalizing existing spaces and providing new, state-of-the-art galleries, studios, and senior student laboratories. The design strategy focused on providing large expanses of northern light, appropriate to the building’s function, and developing a new, welcoming public interface with the rest of the campus, its students, faculty, and visitors. Since its opening, the building has served as a gallery for traveling art exhibits; it has played host to various social and educational functions; and it has met the goal of creating a more appropriate center for visual arts, helping the students and teachers elevate their education and their art to a new level.