LOA Architecture

The LOA/A&P team received an Award of Merit for the massive expansion of the Paul Sandoval Campus for Denver Public Schools!
Group photo: Left to right standing– Jim Staples (Denver Public Schools), Tim Habben (LOA Architecture), Tim Coy (Denver Public Schools), Brandon Hill (A&P), Left to right seating– Kyle Tillery (A&P), Chris Henry ( A&P), Sean Mendez ( A&P)

Expanding a 34-acre high school campus occupied by nearly 2,000 students is no easy task. However, despite the onset of COVID-19, this project was completed in less than 12 months, five months earlier than planned. The campus is home to Northfield High School and the Denver School of Science and Technology, and this project, one of the largest for Denver Public Schools, features construction of a new two-story classroom building, two auxiliary gyms, four tennis courts, four pickleball courts and a synthetic turf field. In addition to balancing the multiple building schedules, AP worked with two different entities for permitting. The new pickleball and tennis courts and field are on Denver Parks & Recreation land and required an additional permit, which took about six months to obtain. The construction team balanced the longer permitting process with other scheduled construction activities.

LOA is proud to call Ann Dang a LOA alumnus! Ann's journey to the field of architecture not only led her to LOA, but back to Adams 5-Star Schools 12 Five Star Schools

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The number one question every kid encounters during their childhood. Children usually don’t have a solid answer to this question; I didn’t either, but I knew that I loved to draw and paint as a kid. In addition to being creative, I liked math in school....

...In 2019, LOA provided full architectural services for the interior and exterior remodel of Horizon High School in Thornton, Colorado for Adams 12 Five Star Schools.
LOA Architecture worked with Horizon High School in Thornton, Colorado on both an exterior and interior remodel in 2019. Work included the replacement of flooring including: 1) Carpet throughout the corridors, mobile classrooms, Collaboration Rooms and Library Media Center (LMC), 2) Replacement of rubber flooring on stair treads with porcelain tile, 3) Remodeling of four (4) existing classrooms into Collaboration Rooms, 4) Remodeling to the existing LMC, 5) Upgrades to 2 art rooms and 1 Music Room, 6) Acoustical, performance and lighting upgrades to the auditorium and 7) Addition of security vestibule to the front lobby. The remodel also consisted of the replacement of existing residential windows with high efficiently anodized aluminum windows with a minimum of one (1) operable unit per classroom.

... In December 2008, Phase II of the Arvada West High School opened with a brand new fully completed replacement campus six months ahead of schedule. The 162,000-gross-square-foot $25 million facility provided Arvada West with a new auxiliary and main gymnasium with locker rooms, auditorium, music rooms, administration, cafeteria/commons, kitchen, and core classrooms for math, English, special education, arts and wood technology.

The design by Luis O. Acosta Architects (now doing business as LOA Architecture) has been described as “one of the most imaginative, unique, innovative and dynamic construction projects in Colorado”. When LOA began the design of Phase I in 2000, there was no way of knowing that the daylighting concepts that were incorporated would be as popular and as widely used as they are today.

The initial concept for Phase I and Phase II was for the school to have an office building type image which features large punched exterior windows and a two-story atrium. Contiguous to the atrium space are two levels of classrooms, which have borrowed light windows that capture the light of the atrium.

... The DIA Passenger Bridge functions as a connecting corridor between the Terminal Complex and Concourse A for both international and domestic airline passengers. It spans over taxiways 8 & 9 and boasts a midspan height of 45’ to accommodate the passage of airplanes beneath. The bridge, spanning 365’, consists of 2 levels-the upper level is used by passengers arriving in Concourse A and has a direct connection with Customs and Immigration Services for international flights, while departing passengers travel through the lower level en route to the Concourse. The 25th Anniversary was celebrated a few years ago.

LOA Architecture was the Master Architect and Adolfson & Peterson Construction was the Construction Manager/General Contractor of the most recent construction projects on the Paul Sandoval Campus. Eidos Architecture was an Associate Architect for the Auxiliary Gym project. While the new school buildings are on Denver Public School’s property, the courts and soccer field are on Denver Parks and Recreation property.
The shared campus is now complete. The finished projects that were started May 2019 include: • Two-story 46-classroom building (Building 5) • Music/Drama addition • Two auxiliary gyms and supporting restrooms, concessions, and locker rooms • Four tennis courts, two pickleball courts, and a soccer field. The shared campus now has a total of 2 classroom buildings for Northfield High School, a 3-story classroom building for Denver School of Science and Technology, a Commons building with a Music and Drama addition and 1 Gymnasium building with: 1) IB Library, 2) Competition Gym and 3) two Auxiliary Gyms.