D’Evelyn High School
Jefferson County, CO
The planners of D’Evelyn School wanted a new building that would evoke the traditional atmosphere of its academic program. What D’Evelyn’s planners did not want was a building that would be costly to own. They knew that once the bond money had been spent — $16 million in D’Evelyn’s case – any long-term maintenance costs would come from the annual school operating budget. That put maintenance directly in competition with academic instruction for money. “The atmosphere we hoped to achieve was one of durability and a sense of formality,” says Carolyn DeRaad, a member of D’Evelyn’s Design Advisory Committee. “Brick very early on came out as the major way to achieve that.” It cost roughly $118 per square foot to build D’Evelyn School at a time when schools elsewhere were being built with cheaper materials for as little as $104 per square foot. DeRaad says design committee members looked at some of those schools and this is what they learned: “Person after person said their schools have a typical lifespan of 20-30 years. I don’t know why you would build a building with a 20- to 30-year lifespan.” Jack Swanzy, director of Facilities Planning for the Jefferson County School District, agrees. “Looking at both the initial construction costs and long-term maintenance benefits, brick was chosen to meet our budget constraints and our aesthetic goals.” Brad Olson of Lakewood Brick added, “Jefferson County understood what some of our 50-year-old buildings have taught us — brick and masonry construction are timeless, and over time they are some of the cheapest buildings you can own.”