This new two-story, 500-student PK-8 is located on a 44 acre site within the Steamboat Springs School District. It is the district’s first new school since 1981. The school boasts views to the Steamboat ski area, and includes separate, age-appropriate play areas for the elementary and middle school students. A large commons for eating and gathering promotes a welcoming, comforting environment.

Design goals for this project included developing a child-centered, age-appropriate environment where students and teachers are collaborators; presenting a welcoming, vibrant and fun-loving school where teachers and students are excited to spend time; ensuring a safe space that is welcoming and a learning community where all students are supported in an environment where they feel a sense of belonging; designing a school that is inclusive and accessible to all; and supporting a continuum of learning through flexible, fluid interior spaces and outdoor learning spaces.

Students at Sleeping Giant will attend the school for as many as ten years, changing and experiencing significant growth during that time. They will grow physically, mentally, and in relationships with friends and teachers along the way. The school design represents the idea of growth by building heights, window size and spacings, and organic column features that increase from the edge to the center of the school. The Fibonacci sequence is used throughout to establish proportions and serve as a mathematical learning opportunity for the students.

To learn more about the graphic design services Hord Coplan Macht provided for this project, click here.