Greenhill School, Rosa O. Valdes STEM + Innovation Center

A new home for middle and upper school math, science, and innovation at Greenhill School, a leading independent day school in the greater Dallas area, the 67,400 square-foot Valdes STEM + Innovation Center provides a range of classrooms, fabrication and robotics labs, and makerspaces, intentionally intermixed to foster cross-disciplinary teamwork. The project offers a warm, natural framework for varied activities, while ample glass throughout allows visual connection 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 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.

The design distills familiar Greenhill campus elements – including brick, heavy timber, natural light, and indoor-outdoor connections – to create a contextual building that is deeply rooted to its place. Inspired by the school’s beloved former Agnich Science Building, an expansive interior courtyard draws daylight into the central commons and open circulation paths. The commons and an adjacent café welcome the extended Greenhill community into the building and provide opportunities for future engagement with regional higher education research and industry partnerships.