River Oak Baptist School in Houston combines Pre-K through eighth grade academics with robust character and spiritual development. The school’s mission is to prepare students to meet life’s challenges and lead the future with superior education and Christian principles.
Modular metal panels give new school a unique aesthetic
River Oaks Baptist School in Houston
A 100,000-square-foot expansion allowed the school to add 10 students per grade level. Designed by Jackson & Ryan Architects of Houston, the Mosing Middle School Building and Sarofim Leadership Center is based on 21st century learning rooted in STEM education including new media and art rooms, performance space, a robotics lab, and a focus on sustainability.
To help communicate the school’s mission, and to empower students and create a sense of community, the architects chose metal wall panels from Moon Township, Pa.-based CENTRIA to deliver dynamic and creative learning spaces.
The architects wanted to depart from the existing brick palette while expressing the school’s innovative learning environment. The design for the four-story, metal-clad school, which is grounded within the existing brick buildings, twists out as each floor rotates, exposing a roof garden for each Grade Level Learning Community.
To create the unique aesthetic, the project features CENTRIA’s Intercept Entyre modular panels in alternating Silver Gray and Dove Gray. The CENTRIA panels allow for both standard and oversized joint sizes, which helps define and delineate the overarching pattern. To reduce time spent outside, the panels were shipped to the construction site in small batches before being installed over six months.
The building envelope design required special trims in certain spots, which were installed by Underwood Sheet Metal Inc., Houston. The CENTRIA panels are installed around stucco and ledges with a ledge flashing on top to ensure water rolled off and out of the building.
“The building is really sharp and has great unique colors used for the design,” says Jeff Underwood, president of Underwood Sheet Metal. “It’s the only time I’ve seen those colors used, and I think it was a game changer.”
The new school opened to students in August 2020 after 18 months of design and construction. Jose Rosales, AIA, associate at Jackson & Ryan Architects, says, “The building is optimized for the middle school-aged student, a child in transition. While much of the school’s curriculum seeks to challenge the student, the community seeks to support students and reinforce the area as a whole. The new building does the same with hyper-flexible spaces where risk-taking-learning can occur, and students can find their comfort zones.”
The 15,000-square-foot Sarofim Leadership Center is adjacent to the middle school, and acts as a bridge between the existing campus and the new middle school, creating a front door for the campus, while also providing administration and collaboration spaces.