A new 75,000-sf Early Learning Campus, designed specifically for The Awty International School’s pre-K through first grade students, recently opened in Houston. Shepley Bulfinch’s design created the new campus from a vacant 30-year-old office park that sits on a 5.25-acre site.
The office park had three existing buildings in a U-shaped configuration that created a natural enclosed pocket for Shepley Bulfinch to focus the learning and enrichment facilities for the 345 pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade students. Two-thirds of the existing parking lot in this pocket was replaced with synthetic turf to create a 20,000-sf outdoor play space. The remaining third was left for use as a visitor parking lot. This green space features outdoor classrooms, flexible learning spaces, and a European-style plaza with benches and pavers. All but four of the campus’s 26 classrooms open up to this fenced green space.
The outdoor play and learning area has a bicycle/tricycle path winding around play structures and under bridges, two playgrounds, a small soccer field, and basketball and play courts. There are also student gardens and covered pavilions with wooden decks to help facilitate outdoor learning.
View from multipurpose room across Boulevard towards Building C Entry at the Awty International School in Houston. Photo: Shepley Bulfinch.
In order to make the existing office buildings feel like a school environment for young children, the exterior glass, sign bands, and soffit panels were removed and the buildings were clad with vertical perforated multi-colored translucent resin panels. The outdoor classrooms use the same resin panels for roofing in a shingled pattern. Security fencing, check-in points, and separate entries and circulation for carpool drop-off, visitors, and faculty improve vehicular circulation and campus safety.
In addition to the 26 classrooms, there are also two multi-purpose rooms, art and music rooms, a teaching kitchen, a library, a media room, and dining facilities for students and faculty. A two-story gymnasium features a rock-climbing wall, multipurpose courts for basketball and volleyball, and a performance stage. The classrooms are linked via internal doors through all three buildings and large glass windows, skylights, and open spaces provide plentiful natural light.
J.E. Dunn Construction was the general contractor for the project while Cardno and Burns DeLatte & McCoy, Inc. handled structural engineering and MEP engineering duties respectively.
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | May 16, 2017
The future of schools: Net zero should be the norm
Students are helping drive change by focusing on the future.
K-12 Schools | May 1, 2017
Seattle’s first vertically-oriented middle school breaks ground
The building will provide 74,289 sf of space across its five-story classroom bar.
K-12 Schools | Apr 21, 2017
The stadium effect
School districts that invested in their athletic facilities over the last few years have seen a tremendous increase in student morale and health, growth in campus culture, and excitement within their communities.
K-12 Schools | Apr 7, 2017
Is an alternative project delivery method right for your K-12 school district?
With California’s increasingly busy—and costly—construction market, it’s becoming more difficult to predict costs with a typical design-bid-build delivery method.
K-12 Schools | Mar 9, 2017
The future of education facilities: Creating spaces where learning happens everywhere
The art of designing schools lies not in just understanding what makes a functional classroom, but in how successful we are in creating a wide array of educational options for teachers and students within the school environment.
K-12 Schools | Mar 9, 2017
School branding: The impact on identity and engagement
What is school branding and why is it important? HMC Architects’ James Krueger and Barbara Perez weigh in on the topic.
K-12 Schools | Feb 22, 2017
Through the principal's eyes: A look at K-12 architecture
Anderson-Livsey is a K-5 school located about 30 minutes East of Atlanta in Gwinnett County and has an enrollment of 785 students.
K-12 Schools | Feb 8, 2017
'Fabrication Hall' introduces Wyoming high school students to career paths
The hall offers bountiful natural light with enough space to build large-scale projects.
Architects | Jan 19, 2017
Harley Ellis Devereaux merges with Deems Lewis McKinley
The combination is expected to bolster HED’s presence in northern California and the K-12 sector.
K-12 Schools | Dec 14, 2016
Expanding possibilities for America's K-12 schools
Bigger buildings, more outdoor space, and greater involvement from the private sector are among the trends marking the new generation of schools.
