THE ACADEMY.

Developer: The Academy Development Group, LP

Architecture and interior design: RNL Design (Denver)

Associate architect: Shears & Leese Architects, LIC (Denver)

Project category: Independent/Assisted Living

Project context: Retrofit/new construction to National Register of Historic Places site

Construction cost: $9.5 million

Total square footage: 83,169 (gross)

Building cost per square foot: $135

Average resident unit size: 1,320 square feet.

The good bones of this project are no surprise: The Academy is a retrofit of a building on the National Register of Historic Places. But a great start improves with the addition of more buildings and color--lots of it--to distinguish key design elements and provide a thoroughly fresh appeal.

At RNL Design, the project team wrestled with concepts that would best accentuate the core building, the Mount Saint Gertrude Academy, constructed more than a century ago. Historic preservation issues complicated the planning process. The final outcome involves four major components, all lauded by our jury: historic building and chapel renovation; conservatory renovation; entry/bridge/housing additions; and nine new bungalows.

The entry/bridge establishes a welcome point and circulation pattern for visitors and residents alike; the new bungalows promote a sense of community beyond the core buildings. New construction does not compete with nor mimic the stately, restored Academy; it purposefully becomes a playful, colorful counterpoint to a jewel of a building.