Humble ISD—Centennial Elementary School
Architect: Joiner Architects
Build a brand new elementary school to serve the community.
Design
This project aims to tell the 100-year story of the school district with a powerful prescription for PLAY. The design focuses on telling the story through the years having the river and the railroad as the main components that founded. Each Pod has its own theme. Kindergartners have the forest; first graders have the “River”, second graders have “Charming old town”, third graders have the “Origin of Oil”; fourth graders have the “Airport” and the fifth graders have the “Lunar Colony”. Careful Planning was taken in order to provide consistent thematic flow throughout the school.
Value
School districts throughout the country are always looking for savings in maintenance and overall building life-cycle costs. Choosing durable building finishes such as porcelain tile and masonry veneer helps the district with maintenance. Furthermore, changes in building codes and technological advances allowed us to design a facility with automated building control systems to help reduce the cost of running HVAC and light controls with LED lights, occupancy, and light sensor to reduce energy bills.
Innovation
The school district entrusted us, the designers, to honor the district’s centennial by creating a storytelling design that engaged the students. So, we brainstormed ideas on how to provide more of a “hands-on” interactive learning environment that stimulated and sharpen the student’s critical thinking while molding them into citizens of a global society.
Community
The school is an addition to a highly rated school district, and it is one of the centerpiece buildings in the new master-planned community. The neighborhood is surrounded by a lake that offers a variety of recreational activities including fishing and jet skiing. The untouched pine forest invites campers and hikers. Moreover, the neighborhood is nestled within a desirable transit corridor and close to shopping and multiple employment centers. The new school is meticulous and thoughtful planning, is designed to be the center of the community.
Planning
The school district’s vision for a new school had many requirements. to begin with, the school was to be a forerunner for the future of next-generation schools with a focus on collaborative and flexible learning spaces-a facility designed to provide every opportunity for collaborative learning. Moreover, the district was pushing for a secure learning space so kids could roam freely without worrying about safety. Lastly, the design should include local materials and elements that recognized the centennial anniversary of the school district. In order to provide a next-gen building with local materials, that support a variety of teaching and learning styles, has natural lights, is safe, and honors the community in which it was founded, we designed Centennial Elementary.
School Transformation
The history of the district was incorporated into the curriculum to provide a unique learning experience for each grade level. The interaction with the historical themes allows for pretend play which fosters student role play and collaboration.
Star of Distinction Category Winner