RICHLAND HILLS, Texas 鈥� Birdville Independent School District鈥檚 new Jack C. Binion Elementary School opened in time for the 2008-09 school year.
The $11 million, 88,000-square-foot campus was designed with flexibility to accommodate different learning spaces and future growth.
鈥淥pen, studio-like areas serve every grade level,鈥� says Mark VanderVoort, principal in charge of the project for HKS Inc. 鈥淭hese spaces are intended for groups of different sizes. For example, two classes can watch a video or half of one class can work on a project with half of another class.鈥�
The previous facility featured 21 portable classrooms and the playground sat adjacent to a high-traffic area. The new school provides a safer environment, with buildings acting as a buffer between a frontage street and the playground, officials say.
HKS worked during the planning process to link the new campus to its history. The new building is styled in a modern interpretation of forms that were popular during the 1950s, according to the firm.
鈥淭he design has horizontal and cantilevering roof forms with an emphasis on horizontal lines,鈥� VanderVoort says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e incorporating similar brick colors and there is also a commemorative space reserved in one of the corridors as a heritage hall for posterity.鈥�
The school also has personal ties with one of the firm鈥檚 top executives.
鈥淩alph Hawkins, HKS鈥檚 chairman and CEO, is an alumnus of the elementary school,鈥� VanderVoort says. 鈥淲hen he attended in the early 1950s, Jack C. Binion was the principal of the school.鈥�
Ralph Hawkins, HKS chairman and CEO, is an alumnus of Jack C. Binion Elementary School.