Project Description:

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT'S ROLE IN DEVELOPING/IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

Trinity Valley School is a prestigious nondenominational private school located in Fort Worth, Texas. The school emphasizes excellence in academic achievement and personal growth of the students. The school has outgrown its current facility and has bought property to develop a new campus in Southwest Fort Worth.

The role of the landscape architect included master planning of the new campus and recommendations for an architectural style. The team was led by the landscape architect through an 18-month process which included several workshops to gather needs, ideas and comments as the master plan evolved. School staff members, parents, students and the design team worked closely together to develop the program for the new campus site.

The academic program included the lower school (K-4), middle school (5-8), upper school (9-12), library, science labs, language labs, theater, dining and gymnasium complex. The athletic program included eight tennis courts, football/track stadium, five soccer fields, two baseball fields, two softball fields and a 1.5-mile cross country track. Program elements provide for future expansion to an enrollment of up to 1,200 students and the addition of a large natatorium to be shared with surrounding schools and summer activity groups.

A thorough site analysis including a transportation feasibility study identified opportunities and constraints to guide the design team through the master planning process. The approximately 62-acre site is bordered by residential uses and city parkland. Eighty-five feet of grade change across the site challenged the designers to accommodate the program in the most efficient manner by respecting the landform and conserving natural resources.

In the master plan, program elements were organized along two major axes- the academic and the athletic. The academic line connects the three schools, the library, theater, science and language labs. The athletic line crosses the academic axis, connecting the physical education area to the existing natural area, which will be used for nature and science exploration. The center of the two main axes creates an area where students will interact and exchange ideas with friends, other age groups and faculty. The two major axes become a common green area, forming a courtyard as the buildings define the edge between man and nature.

Studies of architectural styles indigenous to the area revealed that the style and building layout reminiscent of mission-style architecture would be best suited to the climate and context of the site, the program and interrelationships of the school. Building placement and linkages create courtyards and colonnades common to this style of architecture.

The three levels of the schools are positioned to represent their hierarchy and the continual development of the students. The lower school is placed in a protected environment having private courtyards and limited interaction. The middle school, where students begin to explore nature and science, places its emphasis on transition. Placement of the building creates an enclosed courtyard not open to the full exposure of the common green. The upper school is placed to look toward the future. Courtyards are opened out to the common green, and views of the distant Fort Worth skyline suggest views to the future beyond graduation.

During the master planning, solar angles were studied by 3-D computer modeling to study the best siting of the buildings. The main entry for lower and middle school students faces southeast to be lit by the morning sun, welcoming them to school each morning. The same alignment shelters them upon exiting from the intense mid-afternoon Texas sun.

The buildings were nestled into the east facing slopes to reduce western exposure, thus conserving energy for heating and cooling. Split-level buildings reduce building facades and provide a single story pedestrian entry. The overall building arrangement takes advantage of solar angles and prevailing breezes while minimizing mass grading.

The master plan includes two vehicular entrances opening into the site. The main public entrance leads to the headmaster and admissions area and provides the entrance to the lower and the middle schools, giving visibly controlled access to student pick-up and drop-off. The second entrance is for upper school students and faculty. By providing the campus with two entrances, the traffic patterns are reduced to lessen impact on adjacent residential areas.