The recently completed Texas School for the Deaf Administration and Welcome Center and Early Learning Center, at the state’s oldest continuously operating public school, was designed to foster a sense of belonging for the deaf community. Designed with DeafSpace principles, a set of concepts that recognize the unique human experience of deafness and encourage community building, personal safety, communication, and occupant well-being, specifically for the deaf community, the structure serves as a new campus gateway building.
Designed by McKinney York Architects, the 25,000 sf structure is the anchor for the first phase of the school’s ambitious new campus master plan. It balances different functional needs of public and educational spaces within one building by differing the building massing to clearly denote a formal entry to the administrative areas, separating them from the semi-private entry to classrooms. The new building gathers various departments previously located in different locations around the campus into a single administrative center. It also provides formal and informal meeting spaces, public spaces, and a ten-classroom childhood educational center.
The entry is light and airy, with a double-height, glazed lobby accented with wood finishes providing a warm and welcoming focus for new visitors. Strategically placed openings between classroom and workspaces offer unobstructed visual communication between students and teachers. Round and curved spaces forming generous communal areas are featured throughout the design, enhancing the efficiency of sign language communication, and actively encouraging formal and informal gathering.
The building is the first major construction project at the school to use DeafSpace principles, which were incorporated into the design from the programming phase onward. First developed in 2005-2010 by a team from Gallaudet University, DeafSpace principles use a series of design concepts including Sensory Reach, Space and Proximity, Mobility and Flexibility, Light and Color, and Acoustics. Features including lighting, corridor widths, and door operations are considered when designing spaces that recognize the unique human experience of being deaf rather than treating deafness as a disability to be accommodated.
“The design effort by McKinney York Architects to take materials of previous generations on campus, to integrate them to the greatest extent possible without replicating what had been done in the past 150 years, through to new construction materials, paint, textures tones, is period-correct now, but also ties back to the timelessness and history of the school,” said Justin Wedel, CFO, the Texas School for the Deaf.
Owner and/or developer: Texas School for the Deaf
Design architect: McKinney York Architects
Architect of record: McKinney York Architects
MEP engineer: TG&W Engineers, Inc.
Structural engineer: Structures
General contractor/construction manager: Chasco Constructors Civil Engineer: Garza EMC
Landscape Architect: Studio Balcones
IT/ AV/ Security/Acoustics: Datacom Design Group
Cost Estimating: AGCM, Inc.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
K-12 SCHOOL SECTOR GIANTS: To succeed, school design must replicate real-world environments
Whether new or reconstructed, schools must meet new demands that emanate from the real world and rapidly adapt to different instructional and learning modes, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
UNIVERSITY SECTOR GIANTS: Collaboration, creativity, technology—hallmarks of today’s campus facilities
At a time when competition for the cream of the student/faculty crop is intensifying, colleges and universities must recognize that students and parents are coming to expect an education environment that foments collaboration, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
University Buildings | Jul 28, 2015
OMA designs terraced sports center for UK's Brighton College
Designs for what will be the biggest construction project in the school’s 170-year history feature a rectangular building at the edge of the school’s playing field. A running track is planned for the building’s roof, while sports facilities will be kept underneath.
University Buildings | Jul 21, 2015
Maker spaces: Designing places to test, break, and rebuild
Gensler's Kenneth Fisher and Keller Roughton highlight recent maker space projects at MIT and the University of Nebraska that provide just the right mix of equipment, tools, spaces, and disciplines to spark innovation.
Education Facilities | Jul 14, 2015
Chile selects architects for Subantarctic research center
Promoting ecological tourism is one of this facility’s goals
Museums | Jun 28, 2015
Manhattan's New Museum debuts first museum-led incubator space
Part studio, part shared workplace, part lab, and part professional development program, NEW INC connects design with technology, the arts with the market, students with seasoned practitioners, and the museum with the world.
Codes and Standards | Jun 18, 2015
New document addresses school safety and security
In an effort to balance security and fire safety features within codes, standards and planning, NFPA hosted a two-day workshop, “School Safety, Codes and Security”, last December. The findings are now available in an NFPA report.
BIM and Information Technology | May 27, 2015
4 projects honored with AIA TAP Innovation Awards for excellence in BIM and project delivery
Morphosis Architects' Emerson College building in Los Angeles and the University of Delaware’s ISE Lab are among the projects honored by AIA for their use of BIM/VDC tools.
University Buildings | May 19, 2015
Special Report: How your firm can help struggling colleges and universities meet their building project goals
Building Teams that want to succeed in the higher education market have to help their clients find new funding sources, control costs, and provide the maximum value for every dollar.
University Buildings | May 19, 2015
Renovate or build new: How to resolve the eternal question
With capital budgets strained, renovation may be an increasingly attractive money-saving option for many college and universities.
