Architects show new middle school schematics

Fort Morgan residents who showed up at Fort Morgan High School Monday night got a first-look at schematics of what the middle school may look like.

Principal Architect with Larson Incitti Architects Bruce Larson showed the schematic designs of the new middle school in a PowerPoint presentation.

Larson Incitti Architects worked with Wold Architects and Engineers and a group of community members known as the Design Advisory Group (DAG) to generate the schematics. DAG's purpose in the process was to help the two firms understand the community's needs.

The schematics shown Monday night showcased three distinct classroom wings, each with two floors. Larson said each wing will house a different team of students, which is a typical element is middle school design.

"This is a classic middle school model that divides the school by grades, so the building doesn't seem so big and overwhelming," he said. "We know the middle school years are challenging, and this helps to mitigate some of those issues."

Per discussions with DAG, architects set the library to be a distinct element in the building's design, Larson said. The schematics also showed how the administrative area, cafetorium, unified arts spaces, main gym and auxiliary gym will be laid out.

"Schematic design represents about 10 percent of the overall design effort that goes into designing a building. But this 10 percent is really important because we are defining what 80 or 90 percent of the final design issues that will arise."

The schematics showed three two-story classroom wings shooting out of a hallway that connects with the rest of the building. The unified arts space is divided in three separate areas, each one near a different classroom wing.

The designs show the entire facility in an arch, creating a court yard area. Larson said the space in between each classroom wing could also be utilized as outdoor learning space.

Community members voiced some concerns about the parking area and building security.

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Architects show new middle school schematics