Gary Keep Quotations

If a building is going to be around for 50 to 100 years, and (for a high school) cost 70 to 80 to 90 million dollars, it needs to fit and last.

We really need to know what their vision is. The building needs to fit what a school district is trying to do. We want to understand every program and how it might change. The building needs to accommodate what they're doing today and when change comes in the future.

When you're growing that fast, it is a strain on time and resources, and the temptation exists not to devote the time.

We want to be a district's partner and not just a vendor. We can better help them solve their problems if we are involved with them over years and really understand them.

It used to be pretty top down boy, has that changed. It's a real participatory process. Everybody wants to be a part of the process and they should be.

In some districts, there is a view that a building is just something that keeps the rain out. We aren't given access to the curriculum folks. Some schools might say, 'A good teacher can teach anywhere,' but a good teacher will do a better job in a good facility. I wish every district felt strongly that design makes a difference in how students learn.