AIA Austin WiA Profiles 2024 featuring our Associate Navvab Taylor!
Hogg Memorial Auditorium achieves LEED Platinum Certification!
AISD Sánchez Elementary School wins TxA Design Award 2024!
Comedor wins AIA Austin Design Award of Merit 2024!
River Ranch County Park wins a Texas Travel Award and gets featured in Parks and Recreation Business Magazine! Have you been there yet?
Linking Past and Future
Through extensive dialogues involving the design team and local representatives, artifacts from the original school were identified as significant symbols of neighborhood pride and community identity. The design of the project focused on incorporating these carefully salvaged artifacts into the overall renovation of the existing spaces. In this way the design establishes a linkage between the past and future via integration of the artifacts into the spatial fabric of the renovation. The preservation of these special artifacts also served as a springboard for the creative reinterpretation of the symbols as form givers in other parts of the design. The resulting project celebrates the heritage and values of the community while looking forward to a future marked by optimism and empowerment.
Sánchez Elementary School plan (orange dots indicate locations of salvaged artifacts).
A. An important inspiration element was a mosaic bench from the original building lobby featuring a double-headed serpent, a symbol of growth and transformation.
B. When students enter through the new east entry, they’re greeted by a display of handmade wall tiles that commemorate the 40th anniversary of the school in 2016, previous located on the exterior of the façade.
C. Created in 1989 by local artist Raúl Valdez in collaboration with over 300 students, the mural’s narrative spans from pre-history to the present day, with a hopeful outlook to the future.
Drawing Up Community Support
Throughout the yearlong design process, McKinney York sought feedback via dual language community meetings, envisioning exercises, listening sessions, and surveys to ascertain which aspects or qualities from the existing facility should be incorporated into the modernized school. A video animation was used to present the design to the community stakeholders.
The School was recognized by AIA Austin in 2023 with a Design Award for Design Excellence.
“This project made everyone on the jury very happy immediately. It was a project that approached the design task with such exuberance and respect for the local culture and general sensitivity that we couldn’t help at all fall in love with it. It’s colorful, it’s communal. It creates all of these interior town squares for the students to gather around and play and learn. This was overall a great project that everyone unanimously agreed was worthy of the awards.”
– Ahmed ElHusseiny, AIA
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