2024 Exhibit School Architecture
Texas Association of School Administrators and Texas Association of School Boards
Client
Tomball Independent School District
Project Location
Tomball, TX
Area
57,000 SF
Students
550
Storybook Inspiration
Using a storybook as inspiration, the client wrote their own story of how teaching and learning is experienced here. On the first day of school, each learner receives a custom coloring book to illustrate the story of their school. This gift smooths the transition from home to school and provides a tool for learners to make the campus their own as they explore their new learning environment.
01
Engaging Early Learners
Play-Based Learning
Learning pods make up this early excellence academy. Research-based design strategies are curated per learning pod to engage the needs of early childhood learners. Each pod encourages different kinds of play with color themes that take students through interactive lessons. The pink pod is imaginative and teaches cooperation while allowing students to be creative. Orange teaches social awareness and collaboration when interacting with others. Green is a language focused area where students learn letter recognition through storytelling. Purple demonstrates emotional competencies. Blue is a mathematical area that makes number recognition and shape identification fun.
02
Biophilic Elements
Connecting with Nature
Exposure to biophilic elements improves cognitive functioning and increases motor coordination while inspiring a love of nature. Learning spaces include animal themed furniture, forest features, and ocean concepts. Learners begin their journey in the blue pod, representing the smallest of scale under the sea before emerging from water and entering land at insect level in the purple pod. From here, another growth spurt is defined through tree canopies in the green pod. The orange pod represents rising from the trees and taking flight before finally launching out of this world and into the stars in the pink pod. This thoughtful curation of the physical environment engages the imaginations of learners and educators in a way they have never experienced. Our design for this early excellence academy evokes a feeling of surprise, awe, and joy at every turn.
03
Scalable and Relatable
Appropriately Sized Furnishings
From doors and openings to platforms and furniture, our design intentionally brings usable features to a scale appropriate for early childhood users. Additionally, a simple building form and interior flow decreases travel times between activities, recapturing valuable teaching and learning time that is traditionally lost in transition. Every space is a learning space here. Flexible, multi-purpose spaces in proximity to classrooms allow for learning to happen anywhere and everywhere. Considering the campus as an educator workplace is a crucial element to the success of the school. In a world of small-scale accommodations for those they serve, educators are afforded spaces designed and sized for their own wellness, collaboration, and productivity. Providing spaces of dignity for educators increases retention and wellbeing, ensuring educators return year after year.
