Academy 20 K-12 School Competition
Education
Architecture + Urban Design
410,000 sf, 38,090 sm
Colorado Springs, Colorado
A fusion of sustainable building with natural environment, the Academy engages and enfolds children, faculty, parents, and community. Its protective arc embraces three vertically integrated schools, which fan out in expandable ‘fractal’ growth patterns toward wetlands and the Front Range. Wings converge at ‘mixing’ nodes designed to promote interaction. Infused with light, view frames shift as students move in their growth to maturity. A ‘discovery walk’ links alternative indoor and outdoor learning settings—encouraging improvisation, adaptation, and personalization. Revealing materiality, tectonics, and technology—wind generation, indirect daylighting—the Academy is an active educator. Heritage Project