Valor Center for Culture & Influence

Highlands Ranch, Colorado

The Valor Center for Culture & Influence is a new 83,000 SF educational and performance facility, which was designed to significantly expand the visual and performing arts curriculum of one of metro Denver’s most prestigious college preparatory schools. The Valor Center houses visual arts classrooms, a professional-level recording studio, a television/broadcast studio, dance studios, a black box theater, a photography suite, numerous digital media labs, and small practice rooms. The centerpiece of the facility is a 715-seat auditorium, which serves as the core of the music and drama programs and provides common assembly space for a variety of instructional programs.

Many sustainable design strategies and technologies were incorporated into the design of this LEED-registered facility including:

  • Non-mixing thermal displacement ventilation HVAC system with incoming air originating underfloor or at floor level to efficiently condition most interior spaces
  • Variable-air-volume air handling units (AHUs) with direct evaporative cooling and chilled water backup
  • AHUs with air-side economizer cycle to utilize cool outside air for “free cooling”
  • 85% LED lighting (dimmable and low energy)
  • Vacancy sensors to turn off lights in unoccupied spaces
  • Daylight modeling and daylight harvesting (with photocells) to bring high-quality natural light into the facility

The RMH Group served as the project’s mechanical/electrical engineer.

LEED Status

Registered LEED-NC