Located in Littleton, Colorado, Newton Middle School for Littleton Public Schools is intended to inspire creativity and innovation in an engaging 21st-century learning environment. Design Concepts, Inc. of Lafayette, Colorado was hired by RTA Architects to design outdoor learning experiences, multi-use spaces, engaging play, and recreational opportunities for students of varying ages.

The team chose a 24-acre site as the home of the new middle school, as well as a new district football stadium. The new stadium is located where the old building once stood, and the new building is located at the far end of the site, away from the former building location so the school could remain in use until the new building was complete, which avoided having to displace students during the construction period.

The new school was funded by a community-supported bond and the BEST grant program funding from the Colorado Department of Education. Community involvement and public meetings helped inform the site design and its relationship with the surrounding community. Design for the new project began in March 2019 and construction for the school was completed in September 2021. Construction of the stadium is anticipated to be complete by August 2022.

The project was formatted as a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) project which allowed for up-front input by the general contractor to assure the project stayed in line with expectations and budget. This approach helped avoid revisions to the engineering design later in the design process. With the design vision clear from the beginning, the team was able to provide graphics and descriptions to the community and local agencies that remained accurate to the final design.
During the design process it was determined that the exterior spaces should directly support the school's inspiring educational environments, so outdoor multi-purpose spaces were integrated into the school with strong connections to classrooms allowing for learning experiences to extend outside.

Main Entrance
The main entrance is designed to accommodate heavy traffic including students, staff, visitors, and parents during peak drop-off and pick-up times. Various components were added to the entry space to maximize organization and efficiency while avoiding conflicts of users moving in and out of the site. A bus loop, located to the north of the main drop-off area, allows for dedicated bus lanes, and bike racks at the south of the entry area and away from the pick-up and drop-off area where strategically placed to reduce conflicts between pedestrians, vehicles, and bicycles. Seating throughout the entry area creates a safe place before pick-up as well as a communal gathering area. Lighting integrated into benches and a soft glow from light pillars contributes to the entry area's safety.

South of the main entry, small groupings of Soma Stone seating boulders in crusher fines are intended for staff break areas. These small spaces accommodate two to five people and are located near faculty break rooms permitting staff to conveniently spend their break time outside.

 

Year-round Activity Space
On the east side of the building the main outdoor space has a direct connection to the school's cafeteria through large roll-up doors, encouraging students to enjoy their dining outside. Outdoor tables are sized and arranged for small and large groups. Leaning rails were also added to offer options for casual hangouts and social experiences. The outdoor dining area opens to the activity area which includes playground equipment, a basketball court, four-square courts, and a multi-use synthetic turf field striped for baseball and soccer. A large net climbing piece, which was formally located at the previous school, was deemed in good condition and relocated to the new playground providing a sense of familiarity for existing students. Bands of concrete with a charcoal colored pigmentation extend from key building features connecting the structure to the activity area.

There are two playground areas with synthetic turf safety surfacing, one for swings and the other for the net climber. Synthetic turf was used at the play areas for its durability, reduced maintenance, and year-round useability. The corner of the area against the south facing side of the building has a radially shaped steel shelter and a small grove of ornamental trees to offer shady gathering spaces.
The multi-use field is intended to provide high-quality athletic fields for both the school and the community, as South Suburban Parks & Recreation, a local parks and recreation district, shares use of this field for their athletic programming. Trail connections to the west, north, and east allow for ease of access for the community and encourage students to walk or bike to school.

Students can enjoy their meals, socialize, and be active in many ways with the new synthetic turf field, basketball court, and dining area surrounded by play features. The building's cafeteria and auditorium spaces open to outdoor social and play spaces expanding where students dine and socialize.

Outdoor Learning Opportunities
The middle north portion of the building is designed for fabrication shops and maker spaces, as the building wings create a protected courtyard for these specialty classes to bring their work outdoors. At the heart of the courtyard is a year-round greenhouse and concrete outdoor learning space designed like an amphitheater which offers casual seating, classroom space, and performance space for the arts groups. Concrete seat walls, a seat boulder, and tables provide a variety of additional seating spaces. Bands of colored concrete continue from the building's features into the courtyard and amphitheater.

At the top of the amphitheater, a soft surface path connects to a hilltop seating area surrounded by irrigated native grass groundcover. The path continues down rock steps and crosses a cobble stream bed with a custom footbridge. The streambed has a variety of rocks, boulder walls, plants, trees, and logs to soften the space. Landform and undulations were designed for a natural feel. The nature-based courtyard offers a tranquil setting for focused learning, student exploration, and discovery.

The NOVA Center Program
The final exceptional area of this site is north of the main entry, a portion of the school dedicated to hosting the District's NOVA Center program for students with special social and emotional needs. The dedicated playground has a variety of sensory stimulations and challenges. Play equipment was chosen to be engaging for middle-school aged students, focusing on movement for proprioceptive development with several types of swings, spinners, balancing activities, and climbers of various levels of challenge.

The playground surfacing is all poured-in-place rubberized surfacing to provide ease of access to all components. An undulating synthetic turf hill provides opportunities for students to freely explore and blow off some steam. There is also an area of natural bluegrass shaded by trees for an additional sensory experience. The NOVA playground is secured with ornamental metal fencing.

Challenges
Although the site is large enough for the building and site components, it is bounded on all sides by roads and homes. There is thirty feet of grade change from one side of the site to the other. The building is nestled into the grade change, and slopes and retaining walls transition grades on the exterior. To tie into surrounding constraints, retaining walls were designed along the east and north property edges.

Drainage was a challenge due to surrounding constraints. To meet stormwater needs, a detention pond was placed north of the multi-use field. Care was taken with the design of the detention pond to protect adjacent homes. The emergency spillway is situated at the north side of the pond and spills onto neighboring open green space, protecting the homes.

At the nature-based courtyard, drainage is directed into the cobble lined swale to collect runoff and allow it to infiltrate into the ground. Runoff that does not infiltrate is captured in storm inlets connected to the site's underground storm system.

Newton Middle School was the first of the district's projects under the new bond measure. The design was intended to serve as a model for future District school improvement projects. The project won an award for Outstanding Design-Middle School Presented by American School & University.

Design Concepts views Newton Middle School as a case study for site design using innovative design concepts, a modern approach to outdoor learning spaces, newly available furnishings, and collaborative teamwork among the district, owner's representative, architect, and contractor.