The primary function of a school is to provide an optimum environment where teachers can communicate with students. In fact, up to 60% of classroom activities involve oral communications between teachers and students or between students. Speech intelligibility is critical in schools. But very often acoustic design is overlooked and the result is a poor acoustical environment.
Designing a new building or retrofitting equipment with energy or sustainability in mind is often an afterthought. There are many opportunities for long-term improvement of a building’s efficiency and occupant comfort that are overlooked. Both occupant comfort and operating cost can be improved with the implementation of simple low-cost to no-cost sustainable design strategies.
Zac Morton, PE, LEED AP serves as a Partner at DBR, managing the firm’s Practice Area Leaders and overseeing client relationships and projects in Central Texas.
DBR Engineering worked with Corgan Associates to provide mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering services for a new STEM and CTE addition at Dripping Springs High School. We also provided technology consulting and building systems commissioning services.
When the Houston Independent School District was ready to replace one of their existing schools, they took the opportunity to really explore new horizons. The three-story, 252,000 sf Ross Shaw Sterling Aviation High School includes an aviation magnet program to produce the next generation of pilots, mechanics, engineers, and aviation leaders.
Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center is located in Houston, Texas, and is part of Houston ISD. The vision for this 369,141 sf project, designed by Stantec, integrated a new comprehensive high school, which included renovating and incorporating the recently constructed science wing.
Designed by Huckabee, the new 125,393 sf elementary school for Fort Bend ISD, located on a 13-acre site in Richmond, Texas, supports small-group engagement and collaboration with the use of grade-level learning neighborhoods and a large 2-story learning commons.
Houston Independent School District’s Milby High School is a place where past, present, and future meet. Designed by Kirksey Architecture, the project includes 40,000 sf of renovation to the historical structure built in 1926 as well as 240,000 sf of new construction.
Located in Houston’s Third Ward, Energy Institute High School is the newest magnet school in Houston ISD and the first energy-focused magnet school in the Nation. The campus, established in the “Energy Capital of the World,” is helping the district pave the way for students who aspire to a career in the energy industry and ensure they are well versed in corporate culture.
DBR is pleased to be working with IBI Group on the design for the Flex 20 Elementary School for Conroe ISD, a two-story, 125,000 SF facility designed to ultimately house 1,000 students. The organization, classroom layout, materials, systems, and program spaces of the Conroe ISD “flex school” prototype were reviewed and revised to meet the latest curriculum and technology standards.