Architecture & Construction Case Study - Aurora Christian School

Rapid renovation of an existing facility proves to be a blessing

Sometimes what God has in mind for us, doesn’t fit our original plans.
Aurora Christian School had seen many construction projects in the past, nearly all of them remodels or renovations. Renovation is messy work. Complicated work. And they weren’t going to do it again. With their current facility in downtown Aurora nearly bursting at the seams, they had their eyes set on a brand new facility at the edge of town. The property was already purchased. Talks with Aspen Group were in progress. Then God intervened.

A large warehouse complete with office space was due to become available. The location was not far from the land the school had purchased. “This came up and we thought ‘oh no, we don’t want another renovation,’ but we came and saw it and… the Lord had this for us. It lent itself so well to being a school. It even lent itself to the plans we had been drawing for new construction,” recalls Collette House, Dean of Education.

Over the next several months, Aurora Christian School worked closely with Aspen Group to determine the feasibility of converting the warehouse to a school. Tony Mull, an Aspen Group design manager, took the school’s original new construction plans and “tweaked it all, fixed everything, improved on our dreams and our goals,” says Collette.

Believing that God wanted them to proceed, the school sold most of their land and bought the warehouse in a deal which put them financially far ahead of where they had originally thought they’d be. But the challenge still remained: convert a 160,000 sq. ft. warehouse into a school. And do it in 9 months.

Key to making that happen was Aspen Group’s design/build process. Aspen architects are tightly integrated with their construction staff, enabling potential problems to be worked out while drawing the plans, instead of during construction. Of course, with a renovation, there are many unknowns. Having the architect and builder on the same team allowed for quick resolutions to unexpected challenges. As Paul House, school founder and superintendent, describes it, “In design/build, we have everybody at the table every week. And the man who designed it has to answer why and we get answers quickly. The people who are doing the daily work have the architect’s ear, and we’re all going the same direction…. We’ve moved ahead very quickly on this project and I do not believe that we would have met the occupancy goals or hopes if we had gone with a composite team.”

Aspen Group also got their subcontractors involved at the very beginning. Together they brainstormed about the best, most cost-effective ways to do things, given the limitations of the current structure.

The warehouse presented many challenges. Channels had to be cut through the concrete floor for plumbing and network cabling. Support posts every 40 feet had to be incorporated into the design. And like most warehouses, there were virtually no windows. Aspen Group’s architects created a floor plan that leveraged the strengths of the existing building and minimized its weaknesses. Dozens of new windows and doors were cut into the thick concrete walls. Skylights were added. And miles of new interior walls were framed up. The floor plan design style was intended to make the school seem like less of an “institution.” As Tony Mull, Aspen Group design manager says, “We created two pods – one for the middle school and for the high school. Each pod has a central gathering place with a skylight. We wrapped the classrooms around those cores. As a result, the hallways meander. We didn’t want big long straight corridors. There is always something exciting around the next bend.” In between the two pods Aspen created a large central cafeteria, something Aurora Christian had never had before. Again, Tony Mull: “We put a huge skylight in the cafeteria too. Natural light provides warmth and drama. It draws people to those areas.”

Once construction began, Aspen held weekly meetings with the owners to keep the project on pace and talk through any issues. In the construction industry, meetings like this are often tense, but with Aspen “We have discussions, we may even have differences, but we don’t have conflict. When there is a problem, it’s fixed. When we came up against a hurdle, we felt like with Aspen, they and we are a team,” says Paul House.

Much of the sense of teamwork with the client is because Aspen Group personnel wholeheartedly support the mission of the school. “They really do have a heart for ministry,” says Paul House. Matt Davidson, Dean of Students comments that “It’s been exciting for me in my involvement with Aspen Group to see the commitment from them, not only to the work here at the school and their diligence in making sure everything has been finished for us, but more importantly that they do share in our mission, our overall mission.”

As testament to Aspen Group’s integrated architecture and construction process and close teamwork with the client, this ambitious interior renovation was completed on schedule. The middle school section was finished mid-September. The high school was completed late December to allow for move-in during Christmas break.

And so, things turned differently than Aurora Christian School had originally planned. Different… and better. Already the school is enjoying the fruits of their new facility. Enrollment has begun to rise, community interest is high and the students and staff are relishing their beautiful and functional new space. “This project is something we did not anticipate, something that is bigger than we ever thought would happen,” says Paul House. But this is just the beginning. As Paul says, this experience “has expanded our mind to believe that God has greater things for us than we can think about.…We believe this facility is a step toward bigger things.”
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If you are ready to experience the benefits of design/build from a company that really does have a heart for ministry, call Aspen Group today at 888-241-9980.