Gold Hard Hat Award
Denver School of Science & Technology
Submitted by KL&A Inc
The Denver School of Science & Technology project consisted of a 45,000-sq-ft middle school addition to an existing high school in Denver. The school benefited from a delivery method, with the develop-design-build contract awarded to Confluence Builders of Denver, who then managed the financing of the project, the design and the construction. Klipp and KL&A Inc., also of Denver, contracted with Confluence for the design, while Confluence held and managed all the subcontracts.
As a design-builder project, the team was responsible for delivering an education-ready facility, including managing all entitlements, permitting, design, construction and FF&E. The school was designed and coordinated using 3D modeling, and many of the award-winning design features of the existing 64,000-sq-ft high school were improved upon and implemented into the new middle school.
Using LEED design standards reduced the amount of energy the school consumes by 30%, reduced water usage by 10% and provided a healthier and more sustainable learning environment by providing low-VOC-emitting products, better lighting and acoustics.
The project was completed in January 2009, eight months after groundbreaking. Because of the fast schedule and tight budget, the project was being rethought and redesigned during the entire process. This required close collaboration and especially trust, between the develop-design-build team to anticipate, react and develop appropriate solutions to schedule or budgetary problems.
It is registered with the USGBC, and the project team anticipates it to receive LEED Gold certification.
Project Team:
Denver School of Science & Technology
Denver
$7 million
Owner: Denver Public Schools
Design-Build Contractor: Confluence Builders
Architect: klipp
Structural Engineer: KL&A Inc.
Mechanical Engineer: Swanson Rink
Among the Subcontractors: MB Consulting Inc.
Start: April 2008
Finish: Nov. 2008
