Bar W Elementary School

Liberty Hill ISD

The design of elementary school #6 revolves around a line of existing trees that draws focus to an exterior learning courtyard wrapped by a curtain wall for views of the courtyard. Located in Bar W ranch, ES #6 sits on a piece of land previously owned by a family that settled in the 1800s due to its beauty and adjacency to the San Gabriel River.

Inspiration for the exterior and interior comes from a hill country modern aesthetic with stone, wood, and dark metal panels. Sloped roofs with deep overhangs highlight focal pieces of the program, like the entry, library, art, and dining. These spaces have direct views and access to the exterior. Arranged in an L-shape, the academics spaces wrap around those focal pieces and the oak trees. Inserted into that academic piece are “light bars” that pop up and out to allow daylight into the interior collaboration spaces.