The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Crested Butte Community School class project continues to move forward
By Aimee Eaton
It’s looking like hammers will swing this spring as students in the Crested Butte Community School’s applied architecture class have received formal approval of their plans for a town-owned small house to be built at 906 Butte Avenue.
The class, which is comprised of sophomores, juniors and seniors, went before the Crested Butte Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) last week. The students presented the schematics and material lists for a roughly 1,000-square-foot-home to the board members for review, and also gave an oral report on the layout and exterior design of the house that was well received by the board.
“That was a better overview of the plans and design than most professionals present,” said BOZAR board member Roxana Alvarez Marti. Marti then went on to commend the students on their incorporation of changes requested by the town’s Design Review Committee, and stated that in general the committee’s members were satisfied with the plans.
After a brief discussion about the limitations and design requirements necessitated by the size of the lot and a request for a few minor changes to the plans, the board voted unanimously in approval of the students’ architecture design. The decision brought applause from the audience, town staff and the students.
“The students were fairly calm going in to the meeting,” said CBCS teacher Todd Wasinger, who also noted that he was likely more nervous than the kids. “They have great public speaking skills and have worked hard to meet the desires and requirements of BOZAR and the client.”
Crested Butte Building and Zoning director Bob Gillie has been working closely with the class as the representative for the town. He agreed the students had been working hard and had reason to be confident.
“I think we had done enough up-front work with the design and the board to have a fairly high level of confidence that the design would get passed,” Gillie said. “Design is a balancing act of weighing the needs of the owners, the town design review process and the designer’s desires. It was not our intent to throw the students a softball, but to give them a real-world experience in how projects come together. Designing within constraints forces critical thinking, which I believe was part of the educational experience. All in all to this point it’s been a positive experience for all involved, but a lot of hard work is still to be done.”
Moving forward, much of that hard work will be associated with the construction of the home, which also falls to the CBCS students. According to Wasinger, class is now shifting its focus from design to learning the specifics of construction and gaining a better understanding of the costs of building the home
The town has allocated $130,000 for the construction, and Gillie said that while it’s not a fat budget it would hopefully be enough.
“With the town doing the excavation and utility work and the students helping cut the labor cost down, it may be possible,” Gillie said.
Many industry professionals are also consulting on the project at no cost and Wasinger has invited several of them into the classroom to help the students better understand the intricacies of home design and construction.
“Dodson Harper and Brian Buchanan from Resource Engineering Group are teaching structural design in the classroom this week and we will also be developing details about the heating system with August Hasz at REG,” said Wasinger.
In addition, Gary Hartman at Sunlit Architecture is working with the class on interior design and lighting; Maureen Hylander at Thurston Kitchen and Bath is assisting with kitchen design; and John Stock of High Mountain Concepts is consulting on materials and building strategy.
“It has been great working with these professionals,” said Wasinger. “They have been so supportive and willing to help out on the project. Students are getting a good look at how this process works.”
Groundbreaking for the construction of the house is scheduled for this spring. Upon completion, the two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath home will remain property of the town and will provide rental housing for town employees.
This is the third article in an ongoing series following the student build project.
