Boulder architecture firm helps schools design safer, better learning facilities

Business Report Correspondent

BOULDER ? With fluctuating waves of population increases and technological advances, businesses, schools and other organizations battle constantly to keep their buildings up to par with current standards and regulations. Many are forced to renovate and design new facilities to meet security, safety, growth and American Disability Act standards for the 21st century.

Huxley, Salisbury & Associates, a full service architecture firm located in Boulder, provides architectural answers for commercial, educational, public and residential clients. Much of the firm’s recent work involves the renovation of educational facilities. Projects have been completed in the Boulder Valley School District as well as in Jefferson County and Denver.

“We do a lot of work with local school districts as well as the University of Colorado. They are in a real building and renovation mode. They put out requests for proposals on a regular basis for architects and engineers,´ said John Salisbury, co-principal of Huxley, Salisbury & Associates.

Salisbury said most of the projects involve renovations and additions. The firm completed a 12,000-square-foot addition to Centennial Middle School about a year and a half ago that was a major remodel of the building and cost about $3.5 million. The firm also handled construction administration for Monarch Middle School, which opened two years ago.

“We’ve also been doing a lot of work for Jefferson County schools,” Salisbury said. The firm just completed a project for Fitzmorris Elementary, and one for Allendale Elementary is under way. Salisbury said this project includes classroom renovations and a core area renovation, which will include the library, administration offices and gyms. The firm also has done gym renovations for Golden High School.

“They have been a part of two different addition and remodeling projects at Fitzmorris and currently Allendale School, said Carol Civiello, coordinating architect for the Jefferson County School District. “Both schools needed a library media center. They did a terrific job. They listened, then took the input and formulated the design. People got what they asked for.”

In lieu of recent tragedies, security has become a topic of urgent priority in many school districts. A number of schools now use intercom systems, card readers, keypunch systems or security cameras to monitor visitors. “What we’re finding is old schools have bad security problems,” Salisbury said. “New schools, like Monarch, are designed for much better security. They have the main entrance and the drop-off. Everybody goes right past the office.”

But even with buildings designed with security issues in mind, Salisbury said some schools will take extra measures to ensure the safety of students and school property. “CU has card readers in a lot of places. They have a lot of special, secured doors.”

The majority of Huxley, Salisbury & Associates’ school projects deal with program-related areas focused on providing a better learning environment. This includes communication centers, new computer systems and heating and ventilation. At Centennial Middle School, the firm was responsible for installing air conditioning throughout the entire building.

The first step for any project is to sit down with the client and determine a “program.” A project’s program considers the client’s physical needs, facts about the business and any concept the client wants. After a program has been determined, the firm discusses the budget and schedule. In addition to its services, Huxley, Salisbury & Associates brings in electrical engineers, cabling consultants and communication consultants.

“Essentially, this initial programming and design phase is where we come up with exactly what they want to do and design it. This follows a process of further refinement until you have construction documents,” Salisbury said.

Construction documents, or blue prints, are about 60 percent of the work the firm does. The other 40 percent is spent in the field, working with the contractor and the owner to complete the project.

Besides security, one of the major concerns that has led to massive building renovations has to do with building codes that are not being met. “A lot of two-story buildings get elevators for Americans with disabilities,” Salisbury said.

Older buildings in Denver, particularly those built 40 or 50 years ago, barely pass, he said. Even if renovations were made in the 1970s, the buildings don’t meet current requirements. “You used to be able to bring a handicapped person in the back door, and you can’t do that anymore. Everybody is entitled to come through the front door, and because of that, requirements have become a huge issue,” he said.

The firm also designs new commercial buildings, most recently Aspen Green II, an office building in Louisville done in association with Architracks; the interior of the Lumenarea.com lighting show room in Longmont; and a mixed-use retail center in Layfayette.