AISD Menchaca Elementary School
Location: Austin, TX
Client: LPA Design Studios
Size: 98,600 SF
AEGB Two-Star Rating
The ground-up design for Menchaca Elementary School illustrates how a commitment to community engagement, research and innovative learning environments can change the course of a campus. Early discussions focused on broad concepts, including the natural beauty of the site, which housed several mature Texas oak trees. The end result is a collection of three buildings with shaded outdoor collaboration spaces designed around the heritage oak trees. The buildings form two courtyards linked by a second-story bridge that houses an innovative library media center and makerspaces specifically designed for the school. More than 30 percent of the site is open, vegetated space, creating direct links between the outdoors and learning environments. This includes an outdoor reading garden and de-escalation space, an outdoor classroom, and two universally accessible compliant playgrounds. Sustainability and energy efficiency were also baked into every aspect of the design. The new school is an Austin Energy Green Building and the campus is designed to meet LEED certification, including a commitment to air quality and overall wellness for the students and faculty.
