DLR Group Almeta Crawford High School

Almeta Crawford High School sets a new precedent for Fort Bend ISD. The new school is a modern space where designers took an underdeveloped area and created an intuitive campus that pays homage to the deep roots of the district’s history. For nearly four decades the school’s namesake, Almeta Crawford, was an inspiring and highly respected educator at Fort Bend ISD. She taught for more than 30 years at Dulles High School and received numerous awards, including the 2018 Jan DeBlance Memorial Award for Instructional Excellence.

DLR Group situated the building centrally on the site with an overall east-west layout to capture ideal daylight for learning spaces with minimal heat gain. The linear building form is separated into two distinct masses: one to the north and another to the south. An outdoor, secure courtyard connects the two. The courtyard serves as the bridge that connects the academic and core learning programs from the fine arts, athletics, and dining commons. Over the course of the day, students cross the courtyard multiple times, making it an active space for the entire student body. A linear canyon-like courtyard creates strong synergy through the campus. The courtyard also adjoins the learning neighborhoods which are unique to Almeta Crawford High School.

Four learning neighborhoods support diverse academic needs and become the backdrop for moments of human connection. Active participation in the classrooms, collaboration spaces, and multipurpose areas is facilitated by using operable partitions, mobile markerboards, and flexible furniture that provide reconfigurability of spaces.

Large art pieces of the school mascot, the Charger, can be seen adorning hallways, stairwells, and the commons. Almeta Crawford High School showcases large artwork of the school mascot to instill school pride for students and staff. The Charger, which is represented as a stallion, can be seen adorning the halls near the media center. Brand graphics in the commons encourage students to connect with their identity as a Charger throughout the day.

The new high school is an inspiring landscape for this emerging community, situated in an undeveloped suburban area. The design synthesizes massive space into a scaled place through cross-curricular connections and intuitive wayfinding. Each neighborhood brings natural light and scenery into learning spaces to enhance student experience. By incorporating the outdoors into the learning experiences, students are one with nature. Almeta Crawford High School plants root for educational excellence and for the community.