Monthly Archives

December 2015

Timmerman Elementary groundbreaking Huckabee Texas

Groundbreakings Across the State

By | Clients
Pflugerville groundbreaking Huckabee Texas
Kaufman ISD groundbreaking Huckabee Texas

Huckabee celebrated groundbreaking ceremonies with Kaufman, Pflugerville and Whitney ISDs. Each event marked the culmination of an extensive planning and design process to bring state-of-the-art academic and athletic facilities to local students.

Kaufman ISD broke ground on their high school addition and renovation project. It’s part of a district-wide effort to address aging campuses and provide new, technology-rich instructional space for a growing student population. The design will create a unified campus, connecting disjointed buildings into a singular facility that brings academics, fine arts and athletics together. New technologies will be utilized to encourage innovation in learning and interior classroom windows help create a learning-on-display environment. The campus will be complete in 2017.

In Pflugerville ISD, school board members broke ground on a new elementary school and new district stadium. Timmerman Elementary School will replace the district’s oldest campus, providing students with a modern facility that features sustainable elements, offers flexibility in learning spaces and supports future growth. The new stadium seats 10,000 spectators and will serve multiple district high schools. Both projects are part of a $287 million bond program. Huckabee partnered with the district to develop a comprehensive plan for the bond. The new facilities are slated to open for the 2016-17 school year.

Huckabee joined Whitney ISD for the groundbreaking ceremony for their new athletic complex. The $11 million project was approved by voters in May and is the second phase of a master planning process that Huckabee helped the district develop (in 2012, WISD passed a $24.6 million bond for a new middle school and district renovations). The athletic complex will include a new competition stadium, new baseball and softball fields and four new tennis courts. The projects will be complete in time for the 2016-17 school year.

school common area Huckabee Texas

Middle School Maker Space

By | Clients

Huckabee has long explored innovative ways to help school districts design spaces that engage students and support creativity. This concept has become an integral part of the planning and programming process as more and more clients are looking to incorporate flexible-use space into their facilities. Schools nationwide are integrating “maker” spaces into libraries and other areas.

At Midway Middle School in Midway Independent School District, Huckabee is designing a flexible-use makerspace where students have access to materials, tools and technology to freely create, or remake, physical and digital designs and prototypes. The project is part of a comprehensive district-wide initiative to help students prepare for the workforce and college, starting with the introduction of project-based learning techniques in elementary school and increasing in intensity through middle school and into high school. The makerspace in Midway Middle School will build off of similar spaces found in the district’s elementary schools (read more about the concept here), allowing students to work collaboratively and focus on problem-solving and innovation.

The project is part of a media center renovation for the school, which is creating intentional areas within the center that are clearly individualized and identified, yet cohesively integrated into the larger concept of a resource-rich and flexible-use learning space. The makerspace is adjacent to technology and learning resources, a future A/V lab, study and group presentation areas and a learning stair. The space will feature movable furniture, which will allow students to configure the area based on learning goals. In addition, it will offer ample physical and counter space, a sink and storage areas, wall-size dry erase boards and glazed partitions that can be arranged as needed.

Construction will take place in summer of 2016, opening in time for the 2016-17 school year.