Completed Project: Somerville ISD - New Elementary School & Activity Gym

Somerville ISD's new elementary school building was opened to students in the fall of 2018. Through a multi-million dollar bond passed by voters in 2016, Somerville ISD initiated a project to build a new elementary school, complete with a cafeteria and activity gym. GLS was selected as the design professional for the project, providing the following services:

- Architectural Design - Site/Schematic Design - Interior Design

- Site/Civil Engineering Design - Structural Engineering - MEP Design

- Construction Administration - Topographic Survey

The elementary building housing grades Pre-K through 6th grade was designed with 6 wings to separate classrooms and students by grade level. The following summarizes the function of each wing:

Wing 1: Breakroom, Restroom, 6 Classrooms and Admin Offices

Wing 2: 10 Classrooms, Reading Center, Computer Lab, Media Center, and Restrooms in each Classroom

Wing 3: Science Labs, Music Room and Art Room

Wing 4: 9 Classrooms and Restrooms

Wing 5: Book Room, Life Skills Room, Special Education Room, Cafeteria and Commercial Kitchen

Wing 6: Activity Gym, Office and Storage Room

With one point of entry to emphasize the safety of students, visitors are met by the school's administration in order to manage access into the building. The overall shape of the building was designed for easy expansion on the west side for future growth, while the layout of each wing was designed for optimal function and student access. For example, the location of the cafeteria was chosen to provide direct access to the high school and junior high students without disrupting the elementary school students. One cafeteria was chosen to service the campus as a whole in order to provide the district with immediate saving in regards to food, personnel and equipment. The cafeteria was designed to seat over 400 students in order to service the campus as a whole, instead of 2 cafeterias.

"My favorite part of the project was experiencing the excitement of the students, staff and community during the grand opening. One cannot understand the emotional side of their excitement unless you experienced the unsafe and inadequate facilities from which they came." - Billy Ballow, Architect, Project Manager