School Description
Located on the northeast edge of downtown Denver, at 410 Park Avenue West, Ebert Elementary is the home of the Polaris Program, Northeast Denver’s exciting Highly Gifted Program, serving grades K-5. The Polaris Program at Ebert is the first time a program dedicated to meeting the needs of highly gifted and high achieving students has operated in an independent site in the Denver Public Schools, and is the only such school.
Learning Landscapes Description
Site infrastructure issues were a driving force in the plan. Storm water draining into the building and building additions that had little respect for the remaining open space resulted in recommendation for the acquisition of additional space to remove parking and create a school yard appropriate for its 500-student capacity.
Polaris at Ebert
Construction Date
2003
Landscape Architect
GPD Land Design
Play Equipment Vendor
Miracle Recreation Equipment Company
Master Plan
Vision
A unifying school campus that incorporates the surrounding community and reveals a greater sense of place and of self.
Goals
- To create a place of welcome, acceptance and familiarity that encourages community and school use.
- To increase mental and physical education opportunities-both structured and unstructured.
- To provide an opportunity for children and community to experience the Colorado landscape as an ecosystem.
- To improve the quality of Ebert’s campus by developing strategies for expanding the school grounds beyond its current boundaries.
Design Development
Description
Site infrastructure issues were a driving force in the plan. Storm water draining into the building and building additions that had little respect for the remaining open space resulted in recommendation for the acquisition of additional space to remove parking and create a school yard appropriate for its 500-student capacity.
Illustrative Drawing
Design Development Drawings
Presentation Boards
Collage
Construction Documentation
Description from Architect
The campus at Ebert Elementary school was designed as a learning landscape, a design concept that incorporates participatory learning elements with recreational play. The design focused on mapping and use of scaling. The site is a functional park for the surrounding urban neighborhood which is largely devoid of green spaces. The project scope included design development through project closeout. The site design for this Historic Landmark school building was presented to and approved by the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission.
Illustrative Plan
Construction Drawings
Play Equipment
Shade Structure