Client:
Denver Public Schools
Project Description: A neglected, trash-ridden
landscape surrounded Crofton, one of Denver’s oldest
and most strongly urban schools. Recently re-opened as a magnet
school, Crofton operates the Polaris Program for gifted and
high-achieving students. The new campus design for this specialized
school reflects the Polaris program mission: strong academic
emphasis integrally paired with the arts. Unique to this project
was the active and intense participation by the staff, parents,
and students at Crofton Elementary. Parent artists conducted
extensive workshops in the classrooms to design, create, and
install the tiling and kinetic sculptures at this school.
Conceptual Plan: UCD’s playground design
concept for Crofton is predicated on our night sky: as Polaris
is the center of our night sky, so it becomes the center of
this playground. This concept was developed into strongly
arced lines that reflect the stars’ changing positions
as we orbit the sun and that organize the playground elements.
Traditional play equipment and blacktop commingle with a plaza,
gardens, quiet gathering spaces, boulders, and shady groves.
The marriage of art and knowledge, so strong in the curriculum,
is manifest in the wind-driven kinetic sculpture, colorful
seasonal tile, and the large, sculptural sundial. These elements,
paired with the site’s monumental shade structure and
gateway, anchor Crofton Elementary as a new landmark –
a landmark for both the students and the larger community.
Results: Crofton Elementary was transformed
from a neighborhood afterthought to its rightful status as
neighborhood landmark. This school campus/neighborhood park
is withstanding the tests of an urban school. Vandalism is
low; use is high. The project was completed summer, 2002.
