The design reimagined the campus experience as a vertical one, where the density of spaces enriched the density of experiences that students might encounter, both indoors and outdoors.

The design team proposed a comprehensive campus solution – remove eight small, underperforming structures and build vertically to create both a three-story Student Center and quad, the Awty Green, as the new heart of campus.

The Student Center is the unifying element for the campus, with its programmatic variety and visual clarity uniting the diverse campus structures. Its open and accessible layout makes it a natural extension of the school’s existing buildings and landscapes.

The new Student Center celebrates the multicultural school community, catalyzes innovative STEM programming, supports current and future pedagogical practices, and creates healthy, multi-use outdoor space within the compact urban campus.

The project’s site strategies thoroughly respond to the necessary stormwater management requirements of Houston that evolved with climate change – requirements that more than doubled during the project’s design period, requiring imaginative, overlapping detention strategies.

The new Student Center for the Awty International School in Houston, Texas is a transformational project that has redefined the heart of campus and set a direction for all future development for the school.

The smartly stacked three-story building design replaced several outdated one-story structures that congested the center of campus, inhibiting community connections and growth of the rigorous IB and French IB curriculums.

The vibrant dining rooms include a variety of seating arrangements, and the open-style kitchen offers varied menu selections to entice the international student population.

Connected by a series of exterior walkways, patios, landscapes, and outdoor learning areas, the Student Center’s site provides students with innumerable opportunities for healthy movement, social engagement, and reflective moments in nature.

The building’s design addresses Houston’s benevolent late fall through early spring climate and reconciles its warm, humid swing months.

The project’s courtyard configuration provides shaded outdoor spaces, deep overhangs, and breezeways to encourage natural ventilation.

Students are welcomed to the Student Center by a series of rain gardens that lead to a generous outdoor dining porch fronting the courtyard.

A multi-purpose porch serves as a catalyst for gathering, learning, and community.

Informal seating zones and breakout spaces in the Library and Dining Commons are connected to adjacent science labs and classrooms, encouraging group study, collaboration, and spontaneous interactions.

Biophilic design elements, including integration with nature, dynamic daylight, natural materials, and areas of prospect/refuge create a nurturing environment that connects students to each other and the living world.

Quiet study rooms and informal collaboration areas for focused work are dispersed throughout, connecting students to the outdoors with views to the courtyard.

Flanking these central community spaces is the southern Science Wing, with 14 state-of-the art high school science labs as well as student collaboration spaces, and the northern Academic Wing, with 29 academic classrooms as well as the Maker/Robotics Lab.