During the Predesign phase for this unprecedented 3-8 facility, the design team engaged with the Campus Architectural Team (CAT), school district stakeholders, students at the existing elementary campus and the larger community. Engagement methods included in-person Visioning and Charrette meetings, as well as program development outside the District’s elementary and middle school educational specifications. Stakeholder engagement resulted in guiding design principles that were used to develop the Master Plan, and phased building plan, for the campus.
Extension of a more nurturing, supportive and familial environment along with extending the number of years that siblings will attend school together is envisioned as a significant strength of this educational model. Programming goals expressed by campus stakeholders included opportunities for students to build relationships with their peers and teachers. Opportunities for decreased transitions from teacher to teacher with team-focused Master Scheduling in grades 4-6 and 7-8 will allow more time with fewer teachers. Effective and innovative instructional strategies are to be used, focused on closing achievement gaps regardless of background and socio-economic level. Increased opportunities for parent involvement in these critical years will manifest in parent leadership opportunities and parent/student collaboration.
The budget being insufficient to build the entire campus at one time, the project was master planned to be built out in 2 phases. The first phase was initially planned to accommodate 880 learners in grades 4-6, with a project construction budget of $35, 874,252. Program core spaces built in the first phase were sized to accommodate the expanded phase 2 capacity of 1188 learners. Further budget constraints during design created a value engineering of the second floor middle school wing which was shelled out with all the infrastructure in place for a future build-out at a lower cost. We were able to ascertain that capacity for the middle school grades will be sufficient until Phase 2 adds a second middle school wing. The shell space will accommodate the 3rd grade to be relocated from the elementary school next door increasing the capacity of this footprint from 696 to 880 learners.
Blazier Intermediate School
Category
Middle School
Description
Project Location:
Austin, TX
Students/Population Served
Phase 1: 4-6; Phase 2: 3-8
Project Type
New Construction/Addition | Middle School
Completion Date
8/25/2020
Architecture Firm
BLGY Architecture
Austin, TX
blgy.com
NA
https://twitter.com/blgyarch?lang=en
Photography By:
@2021 Andrea Calo
@2021 Andrea Calo
@2021 Andrea Calo
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