The Carbondale Community School
The Carbondale Community School is an 11,000 sf charter school for 114 students, kindergarten through eighth grade. The focal point of the school is a large central community gathering space.
It is organized into four learning centers of two grades each plus kindergarten. Each learning center has its own identity, but is integrally connected to the community space as well. Garage doors open off the Common Room to make that connection and expand classroom space, while unique roof shapes and different colors and materials signify the different learning communities. Beginning in kindergarten with a simple shed roofed space, children move progressively from a gabled space in grades 1 + 2, to a pyramidal form in grades 3 + 4, to a barrel vault in grades 5 + 6 before arriving to a dome in 7th and 8th grade
Another distinguishing characteristic of the building is the use of ordinary materials, such as garage doors and particle board, in straightforward yet elegant ways. This is one of the many Harry Teague signatures found throughout the building. Others include great emphasis on natural lighting, insistence on revealing rather than concealing the structure of the building, and reference to the ranching heritage of the site by use of materials such as galvanized steel, log columns and native spruce siding.