Luis O. Acosta Architects (LOA) of Denver has won the competition to design the public high school in Stapleton.

The Denver school board made the selection in mid February. Preliminary plans call for construction to begin in 2008 on the first phase of the school that would open in the 2010-2012 timeframe. The 20-acre school site is north of I-70, south of 56th Avenue and east of Spruce Street. The site adjoins a 15-acre park complex that the school will share with the public.

Denver Public Schools, however, must first pass a bond issue to finance construction. The district will decide by August about the viability of a bond issue in the November election.

LOA bested three other firms to win a six-month design competition. The competition also included the design for a high school in Green Valley Ranch. The DLR Group won the Green Valley Ranch project.

The LOA concept is a campus with four small schools in separate classroom buildings ultimately for up to 1,600 students. The first phase would accommodate 400-500 students and feature common facilities such as a gym, athletic facilities, music rooms, theater, cafeteria and library.

The design competition was a joint effort by DPS, the Stapleton Foundation and the Foundation for Educational Excellence, which works on education issues in Green Valley Ranch. The foundations proposed the competition as the best way to build the next generation of high school.

The foundations and DPS were seeking school concepts focused on flexible use of space for programming and instruction for individual students. They wanted alternatives to the traditional, large comprehensive school model that, in large part, is designed mainly as the most economical way to get the most number of students in a building. Research clearly shows that smaller high schools in the range of 400-500 students are better at helping young people stay interested in school, tackle core subjects and prepare for post secondary education.

A committee of approximately 20 people was convened to select the architects. They included representatives from the Stapleton and Green Valley Ranch communities, DPS, the sponsoring foundations and educators.

Luis O. Acosta’s clients have included DPS, Aurora Public Schools, the Jefferson County School District, the city of Denver, Colorado State University, University of Colorado and Kaiser Permanente.

The initial design drawings can be viewed on the DPS website.