Concrete School
Houston, Texas
Team: with Amy Westermeyer
Unbuilt, 2011
Team: with Amy Westermeyer
Unbuilt, 2011
This project was designed during a seminar course, "Cast Modernity," which focused on the historical and theoretical use of concrete since modernism. The second component of the class was the exploration of the contemporary use of concrete technology through a design project. The building program is a small private elementary school for 300 students in Houston, Texas. The challenge was to design a single structural module that would act as both column and roof and effectively integrate mechanical services. For cost reduction, the design prompt suggested minimizing the building's perimeter. Concrete was the obvious suggested material, and we were encouraged to use any means of concrete technology. However, our strategy was to effectively expedite the construction process and cut the construction time of traditional techniques of field assembly by half.
The design is inspired by a prefabrication technique used in interstate overpasses. This system used a precast tubular structural member and tensioned cast-in-place infill pieces. By pushing this idea, the designed system benefits from the time and budget savings of the precast interstate system, but has added aesthetic and functional features specific to buildings.
Exterior Aerial Perspective
Floor Plan
Module Diagram
Panel Type Diagram
Construction Diagram
Skylight Panel Diagrams
Interior Perspective
Interior Perspective
Interior Perspective
Interior Perspective
Section Drawings
