Barbers Hill ISD is a fast-growing school district that serves more than 7000 students and employs over 1,200 teachers and staff. In 2020, cre8 Architects was hired to design two new intermediate schools. One of the bigger challenges set by the district was for both schools to be laid out the same but also to appear different from each other. The solution to the “same but different” design challenge was to develop a theme for each school based on the district’s mascot - the eagle.
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Barbers Hill Intermediate School South is one of these schools. It is a two-story, 1500 student school serving grades 4-6. cre8 Architects worked closely with administrators, teachers, and curriculum to determine the school program and to create a school-wide theme that is reflected in the building and curriculum.

The eagle is a common sight in Texas during the winter months. Although eagles do not have a defined migratory pattern, they typically fly south in the winter and north in the summer. Their flight follows a river or other body of water.

The design of Barbers Hill Intermediate School South draws on these migratory characteristics. The journey begins in winter, in the building lobby. As students enter the building, they are symbolically migrating north for the summer. The curved floor pattern represents a flowing river, and the students arrive first at the the 6th grade wing - Spring. An abstract tree pattern, which is repeated throughout the building, surrounds the elevator tower and rises up to the “perch,” a small group room that offers a bird’s-eye view of Main Street below.

As students continue through the building, they pass by the library KIVA. Acrylic tubes hang from the ceiling, mimicking the underside of a tree canopy. Students can sit on raised platform seats below, as if they are perched in a tree. The next two grade levels, 4th and 5th grades, represent summer and fall, respectively. Finally, students reach the cafeteria, fine arts, and gyms, which are decorated with winter colors. The journey ends at the entrance, where students have come full circle and are symbolically back in winter.

cre8 used the eagle theme as a design criterion to create a school that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The various seasonal colors and patterns not only look visually appealing but serves as wayfinding and create a sense of movement and flow throughout the school.