Greenhill School
Dallas
Lake/Flato Architects

A unifying campus plan provides cohesion to divergent themes

© Paul Hester

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Greenhill School, a private K-12 school in Dallas, was a campus of loosely organized brick buildings dating to 1963 that were lacking in architectural distinction and in need of a unifying focus. For many years, the school operated with an "open plan" concept where students and faculty interacted in large activity and instructional areas rather than traditional classrooms. Greenhill administrators asked that the architects infuse that spirit of community when designing the new campus buildings. As a result, the design solutions provide a series of interior and exterior collection spaces—classrooms and courtyards—where students and faculty can gather. Phase one of the master plan added a middle school, administration building, fine arts buildings, and renovated an existing science building; phase two included a new 1,200-seat competition gymnasium and natatorium and renovation of the field house.

The administration building with its three distinctive chimneys now marks the campus entry and sheltered porches shade the student drop-off area. The siting and design of the middle school building beyond creates a large central quadrangle and several smaller courtyards around the edges. Inside, classrooms are clustered in groups of four to form a common octagonal meeting space for each grade. These in turn are grouped around one central auditorium that can accommodate all four grades simultaneously.

The original buildings, designed by O’Neil Ford, utilize a palette of concrete, wood, brick, and steel. The expansion uses the same materials in more modern applications—larger windows help make connections from inside to outside, light steel awnings and deep overhanging metal roofs provide protection from the sun.

Formal name of Project:
Greenhill School

Location:
Dallas

Gross square footage:
116, 000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$20 million

Owner:
Greenhill School

Architect:
Lake/Flato Architects, Inc.
311 Third Street, Suite 200
San Antonio, Texas 78205
Phone: 210-227-3335
Fax: 210-224-9515