2017—Coppell Life Safety Park

Coppell ISD—Coppell Life Safety Park
Architect: Brown Reynolds Watford Architects

A community, grown over time, had the vision to fund a project, an instrument for teaching and a community based amenity. The mission; to build a unique facility providing hands-on based instruction to school aged children. Life Safety Education is illustrated in a setting, both inviting and familiar to young learners, technology surrounds them and the spaces are creatively scaled to not intimidate them during their experience. It is a one-of-a-kind facility with several ‘hidden’ surprises.

Design

Design—Star of DistinctionThe Life Safety & Education Park was designed to respond to the context of an adjacent Main Street development, a community planned center, with park settings and structures that reflect the local Texas history. The LSEP was scaled to be respectful to its neighbors, the massing was broken up to evoke a series of structures or village, rather than a ‘Big Box’. This contextual approach has actually influenced the way the independent structures present the varied lessons taught in each vignette.

Value

The idea of enhanced value is centered around the layers of community that will be positively impacted by this facility. Funding and early concept development was critical to creatively merge uses for the facility. The project primarily has multiple shared uses; early childhood education, public safety, and an emergency operations center. The value of providing facets of community based programs to several districts while keeping a safe watch over that region is a unique asset.

Sustainability

A trellis shaded entry vestibule provides passive solar shading on all glass surfaces. Materials provide a welcoming warm palette, but also achieve goals of durability, longevity, local origination, and high recycled content. Polished concrete floors reduce the need for volatile chemical-based products over the life span of the building. Natural light is balanced with LED lighting, complete with diming and additional controls. The basis for design was focused on CHPS based principals.

Community

The team was challenged to design a new center for community safety and education adjacent to the Old Town development. The facility provides education to school children, families, and the general public regarding overall safety, fire procedures, severe weather, and pedestrian caution. The facility cooperates with the local ISD and provides neighborhood amenities that enhance the adjacent Main Street development that is attentive to the scale and aesthetic of historical Texas architecture.

Planning

The mission of the project was to develop a unique facility for teaching life safety concepts through a non-traditional process. Extensive research and collaborative sessions helped define the program and shaped the vignettes within the park. Master Planning and Feasibility Studies were conducted to define the goals of each learning zone. Visualization studies evolved to shape a true sense of place. The strategy was to design a campus that would become a community based amenity.

School Transformation

Programs rely on hands-on learning processes that powerfully impact elementary aged learners. The goal is to reach children from across Texas, impacting hundreds of school districts. The technology enhanced safety education can be applied in daily routines of youngsters at home, school and in the public realm. Examples include simulated kitchen fires, mock driving courses, pedestrian| bike safety, working traffic signals, severe weather events, and interaction with public safety officers.

Stars of Distinction Star of Distinction Category Winner