International School of Denver

Denver, CO

Semple Brown was commissioned to work with the International School of Denver to develop programming, a master plan, and potential design for a new middle school. Rising enrollment levels drove the need for a new building to address the need for space for the additional students and additional growth needs for the entire campus. In siting the building, we helped to establish a new year-round play quadrangle in the heart of campus with access from all three classroom buildings, created a new building with 30,000 + sf of instruction space, and increased security through enclosing the campus with the new building. The project has established new standards for finishes and design quality, which the school is currently applying to existing buildings on a phased basis. The enrollment growth facilitated by these projects has addressed the school’s long-term financial stability.[READ MORE]

Semple Brown Design was initially engaged by the International School of Denver to prepare a Campus Development Plan that would

  • Identify the most likely means of meeting short-term space needs for an expanded middle school program
  • Identify logical renovation projects for their existing facilities
  • Establish principles for the long-term growth of the campus

Semple Brown Design was commissioned to work with the school’s committee to develop programming, master plan, and potential design for a new middle school. The preliminary phase of the process included discussion and questions regarding:

  • How much space does DMIS need over time?
  • Where’s DMIS’s front door?
  • Where does the Middle School best fit?
  • What are the most cost effective ways of addressing the identified space needs?
  • Are there ways to improve the efficiency of DMIS’s space usage?
  • Is the Peacekeeper building a useful option?
  • Where does new space logically fit?

The rate of enrollment growth at the school out-paced the development plan, accelerating the need for additional instructional space. Semple Brown Design was engaged for the new building; the planning work for the new Classroom Building not only created 30,000 sf of new instructional space, it also

  • Established a new year-round play quadrangle in the heart of the campus, with accessible access from three classroom buildings
  • Enclosed the west-facing perimeter of the campus with a new building, establishing a sense of security that the campus had lacked
  • Replaced the utility feed to the existing gymnasium building
  • Relocated the campus dining facility and library to free up additional space in other buildings for instructional use

The project has established new standards for finishes and design quality, which the school is currently applying to existing buildings on a phased basis. The enrollment growth facilitated by these projects has addressed the school’s long-term financial stability.

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