Nature to Neighborhood Studio

Round Rock ISD

Perched on a bluff overlooking a 30,000-acre national wildlife refuge, campus leadership began developing environments that support their vision. The Studio is a “Home Base” at the edge of the nature preserve. It serves as a staging area, dirty lab, and classroom for environmental curricula. Here students interact with nature on a daily basis with surprising and positive outcomes.

Client Round Rock ISD
Category Prek-12
Awards TASA/TASB Design Awards: Caudill Class Winner, Value, Sustainability, Community, School Transformation

Bringing nature into the student experience

A hybrid of nature and structure

From initial concept through completion, The Studio remained true to the original intent of creating a connection to the neighboring preserved land.

Materials and openings spark curiosity from outside while disappearing from within. In a practical, yet whimsical solution to securing the space, woven rebar mimics overlapping branches and twigs. Birds and small animals perch there to give students a close-up view of nature. The supported experiences expand the campus vision for talent development, joyful learning, and creative innovation.

Sustainability

The Studio meets the 2030 Challenge for zero-energy use

The off-grid Studio is naturally ventilated and powered by an 8kW solar array and battery storage system. A 3,700-gallon cistern stores rainwater for two ponds and a stream table which interactively teaches students about erosion and sedimentation. Though renewable, these systems are limited to battery and cistern capacities, so students learn conservation. Repurposing the foundation conserved resources and the recycled steel lattice cladding welcomes wild visitors into the student experience.