Founded in 1950, Greenhill School is a leading independent day school serving nearly 1,400 students from prekindergarten to the 12th grade. A campus of venerable buildings and welcoming outdoor spaces provides an inclusive and interconnected educational setting. Seeking a transformative STEM and Innovation facility to empower students to collaborate and solve problems in new ways, Greenhill engaged our practice to design a flexible, high performing environment that could serve as a teaching tool while responding to the campus’ context.

A new home for middle and upper school math, science, and innovation, the 67,400 square-foot Valdes STEM + Innovation Center provides a range of classrooms, fabrication and robotics labs, and makerspaces, intentionally intermixed to foster cross-disciplinary teamwork. The first mass timber building in the greater Dallas area, the project offers a warm, natural framework for varied activities, while ample glass throughout allows visual connection between learning environments and sheltered outdoor areas. A modular approach to classroom design, using a raised access floor plenum for future changes to electrical infrastructure and air delivery, will ensure flexibility for changing use and technologies. An expansive, double-height commons provides a welcoming collaborative, meeting, and social space for students and faculty during the day.

Tactile opportunities for students to learn about integrated sustainable design are found throughout the Valdes STEM + Innovation Center, from the use of mass timber to daylight autonomy, rainwater harvesting, energy conservation, and more. Client and project team decided on a mass timber structure early in the design process to lower the project’s carbon footprint, as well as achieve the desired long-term flexibility by facilitating modular classroom and lab design. A green roof and courtyard rain garden showcase native and pollinator planting and water management, while the design team also restored the school’s historic cistern to serve as a linchpin of discussions around the water cycle.

Daylight autonomy is achieved through distinctive north-facing sawtooth windows, and infrastructure for solar hot water and photovoltaic systems prepare Greenhill School for the anticipated future installation. To assist the low energy use goals of the Valdes STEM + Innovation Center, the project uses thermal energy storage via basement ice tanks. The system also reduces cooling costs and negative environmental impacts by using off-peak energy to generate ice that cools the building during peak hours. The project also addresses long-term resilience by incorporating a community tornado shelter in the basement.

The design distills familiar Greenhill campus elements, including brick, heavy timber, natural light, and indoor-outdoor connections, to create a contextual building that is deeply rooted to its place. Inspired by the school’s beloved former Agnich Science Building, an expansive interior courtyard draws daylight into the central commons and open circulation paths. The commons and an adjacent café welcome the extended Greenhill community into the building and provide opportunities for future engagement with regional higher education research and industry partnerships.

Category:Green ArchitectureYear:2025Location: Texas, United StatesArchitects:Bohlin Cywinski JacksonLandscape Architects:OJB Landscape Architecture General Contractor:Scott + ReidDesign Team:Daniel Lee, AIA principal, Tom Kirk, AIA principal, Margaret Sledge, AIA project manager, Habeeb Muhammad, Tom Breslin, Judy Chang, Nicolas DelCastillo, Chris Renn, Chuck Nawoj, and Nora ChaseClient:Greenhill SchoolPhotographers:Nic Lehoux