Information

The New Roaring Fork High School is located in Carbondale, Colorado at the confluence of the Crystal and Roaring Fork Rivers. Mount Sopris separates each river and is Carbondale’s mountain. Rising 6,008 vertical feet straight up from the valley floor; it dominates views, influences weather, and was a design imperative. Teaching spaces are grouped into 3 small, interdisciplinary learning neighborhoods. Each neighborhood contains 4 generic classrooms, a science lab and an enclosed, small group room. The neighborhoods are focused internally on a communal living room for socialization and large group gatherings and presentations. Circulation spaces are designed with nooks and eddies to encourage informal gathering, tying the academic neighborhoods to the Commons and Library with a 2 story Gallery. The 3 pod, interdisciplinary neighborhood design prevents the 4 grade school from devolving into a traditional grade-level configuration, stretching the educator’s mind to … think outside the box. Two story classroom wings conserve ground space and straddle the Sopris-axis of the Auditeria and Library with a sweeping bridge connection. The bridge and Gallery below funnel students and visitors alike past the open “Library as the heart of the school”.

Sustainable, high performance features include . . .
• Follows LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) guidelines.
• Site designed to reduce and treat storm water runoff.
• Site lighting is designed to reduce light pollution to adjacent properties.
• Irrigation designed to substantially reduce water consumption.
• Domestic water consumption is reduced.
• Energy consumption is reduced by the use of high efficiency boilers, displacement ventilation, and ice storage thermal cooling.
• No ozone depleting CFCs or HCFCs are used in mechanical equipment.
• Additional ventilation is provided for improved indoor air quality, including operable windows.
• Low emitting materials are used for improved indoor air quality.
• Extensive use of daylighting with “state of the art” electric light controls - saving energy and enhancing the teaching and learning environment.
• No use of urea formaldehyde in materials, improving indoor air quality.
• Much of the building material came from regional sources within 500 miles of the site.
• Cabling infrastructure provided for state of the art technology, network, communications, and security systems.
• The current high school was recycled into a new middle school.