A new home for middle and upper school math, science, and innovation, the 64,000 square-foot Valdes STEM + Innovation Center provides a range of classrooms, fabrication and robotics labs, and maker spaces, intentionally intermixed to foster cross-disciplinary teamwork. The first mass timber building in the greater Dallas area, the project offers a warm, natural framework for varied activities, while ample glazing throughout allows visual connections between learning environments and sheltered outdoor areas. A modular approach to classroom design, using a raised access floor plenum for future changes to electrical infrastructure and air delivery, will ensure flexibility for changing use and technologies. An expansive, double-height commons provides a welcoming collaborative, meeting, and social space for students and faculty during the day.

Tactile opportunities for students to learn about integrated sustainable design are found throughout the Valdes STEM + Innovation Center, from the use of mass timber to daylight autonomy, rainwater harvesting, energy conservation, and more. Client and project team decided on a mass timber structure early in the design process to lower the project’s carbon footprint, as well as achieve the desired long-term flexibility by facilitating modular classroom and lab design. A green roof and courtyard rain garden showcase native and pollinator planting and water management, while the design team also restored the school’s historic cistern to serve as a linchpin of discussions around the water cycle.

Daylight autonomy is achieved through distinctive north-facing sawtooth windows, and infrastructure for solar hot water and photovoltaic systems prepare Greenhill School for anticipated future installation. To assist the low energy use goals of the Valdes STEM + Innovation Center, the project uses thermal energy storage via basement ice tanks; the system also reduces cooling costs and negative environmental impacts by using off-peak energy to generate ice that cools the building during peak hours. The project also addresses long-term resilience by incorporating a community tornado shelter in the basement.