Arturo Salazar elementary school

Dallas Independent School District

The unique design challenge was to fit a large school (824 students) plus a full Auditorium on a small urban site (6 acres) in an established neighborhood. The resulting building footprint is compact and efficient, and affords ample green space on the small site. Inside, the snug proximities create a more intimate feel with less corridor for the staff to supervise. At $110 per square foot, Salazar is cost-effective while including much to enhance its aesthetics, energy efficiency, security, and long-term economy. Nestled tightly in a diverse residential area, the building projects a range of creative brick patterns which enliven the school with similar variety—each side of the building has a unique brick pattern. Bright interior colors reflect the culture of the community. Technologically, the building design accommodated connecting the HVAC, energy, communication and security systems all to the District's building management network. Finally, the building responds to the site with a notable design feature: The street intersection at Salazar's main entry is a non-right angle. This slightly-off-square angle is reflected in the building by a large sign wall, at the same angle. This sign wall continues inside through the lobby atrium space and down the main corridor.