Phil Castle, The Business Times

Flexibility tops the list of considerations that go into designing schools — from the way they’re the constructed to the layout of the interiors to the furnishings that go into them.

“That’s the big thing right now that I’ve seen,” says Peter Icenogle, president and director of architecture at BG + co. in Grand Junction.

Casey Sievila, an interior designer at Chamberlin Architects in Grand Junction, agrees. “That’s really important.”

BG + co. and Chamberlin Architects — and along with them Icenogle and Sievila — have been involved in a multitude of school projects in the Grand Valley and Western Colorado. 

While security and safety play increasingly prominent roles in school design, Icenogle says the overall objective is to create environments that accommodate students of all abilities and learning styles. “A big part of that is flexibility,” he says.

That includes flexibility in day-to-day operations as well as flexibility over the long term that allows for changes, he says. That might mean partitions that enable teachers to enlarge or shrink classroom spaces for a given activity or project.

Schools also must be designed to allow for changes over time, Icenogle says. High school classrooms used for one subject at one time might have to accommodate a different subject or even a different use.

Some schools have been set up to accommodate different college and career pathways, he says.

Sievila says schools include multiple spaces with different uses. But uses can quickly change even in one space — a classroom, for example.

Alcoves built off classrooms in one school offer separate spaces for different uses, she says.

Furnishings play a key role in school design, Sievila says. Chairs, desks and tables must be durable, but also easy to move so they can be quickly rearranged. Furnishings that allow students to stand or even sit on the floor accommodate different learning styles, she says.

Technology constitutes yet another consideration that must be incorporated into school design, she says, especially at a time when some schools offer a mix of in-person and remote learning.

Icenogle says support for schools and education is important in not only bettering the lives of students, but also communities. “It just makes a big difference to the local economy.”