Bringing new life to an elementary school that has educated members of the community for generations

Memorial Drive Elementary School - Rebuild and Renovation

Memorial Drive Elementary School (MDE) has been serving families with pride and a great sense of community on its naturally wooded site since 1949. Many of the current students are second and third generation MDE students. We’ve worked with Spring Branch Independent School District (Spring ISD) on multiple projects over the years, including the bond program that helped fund the MDE rebuild effort. They engaged us to provide architecture, buildings engineering, and branding and signage design services.

We incorporated the renovation of the existing gym and repurposed the library building into the new front office as part the rebuild. The new school joins all functions together under one roof, providing a central library as the heart of the campus, flexible learning areas within the two-story academic wing, and a strong connection the high energy science, art, music and gym portion of the campus.

The dining commons space is a large multipurpose area located adjacent to the gym for large scale events. The direct access between the commons, gym, outdoor playground, and play fields provides a backyard feeling to the campus. Located within a well-established neighborhood with a single street access to the site, the layout of the MDE campus separates bus, car, and pedestrian traffic, providing plenty of vehicle stacking on site and protecting existing mature trees.

Additionally, we collaborated with the community as part of the redevelopment of this campus through the engagement of a project advisory team, which provided input into the layout and design expression. MDE’s parent-teacher association assisted in funding unique exterior enhancements including a sculptural canopy in the learning courtyard.

Spring ISD’s rebuild of MDE shows their dedication to their community and continuing the school’s educational legacy for generations to come.