Sturm Collaboration Campus Debuts in Colorado
By SCN Staff
CASTLE ROCK, Colo.—Community members gathered on August 16 to celebrate the opening of the Arapahoe Community College Sturm Collaboration Campus at Castle Rock. The direct result of a joint venture between ACC, the town of Castle Rock, Castle Rock Economic Development Council, Colorado State University, and the Douglas County School District; Sturm Collaboration Campus delivers seamless education with multiple on and off ramps from high school to college to career, as well as workforce training for local residents. DLR Group designed the highly engaging and progressive 45,000-square-foot phase one facility.
Sturm Collaboration Campus’s strategic location between Castle Rock Adventist Hospital, one of the largest employers in Castle Rock, and Castle View High School, one of the largest high schools in the county, reinforces the desired connection between K-12, higher education, and industry. The facility includes a myriad of hands-on and work-based learning spaces and labs, as well as an industry pitch room to showcase real-life business negotiations. It is available for lease from industry. At the heart of the facility is a two-story central gathering spot for students, faculty, staff, and industry partners dubbed the Learning Commons. This open space features technology stations, huddle rooms, and a coffee bar, encouraging campus users to mingle and interact.
“DLR Group’s design is modern industrial, with a mix of polished concrete, painted steel columns, beams and joists, and wood to create a warm and inviting space where students, community members, and business partners can test ideas and solutions. Glass provides transparency and adds to the energy and excitement of what’s happening inside the facility,” said DLR Group PrincipalBob Binder, AIA. “All interior spaces are flexible, mobile, and expandable to respond to changes in the marketplace and can evolve as the local and regional economy shifts.”
Students choose from in-demand career and academic pathways in technology, business, and health, and can complete their selected pathway through a hybrid of in-person labs, classes, and online coursework. Students can embark on general transfer pathways to four- year institutions within those fields and complete stackable certificates in areas like Accounting Clerk, Certified Nursing Assistant, and a variety of IT certifications.
The campus was funded in part by a private gift of up to $10 million from the Sturm Family Foundation, the largest in the history of the 13-institution Colorado Community College System. A future phase two for future development includes a second building of similar size and 300 additional parking spots. JHL Constructors served as the design-build partner.
DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new construction, renovation and adaptive reuse.