Baines Middle School

Client: Fort Bend ISD
Completion Date: 2006
Construction Cost: $22,238,000
Services: Planning, Design, Construction Administration
TASA/TASB Awards: Design, Educational Appropriateness, Innovation, Value
Accolades: 2007

Baines Middle School has a capacity of 1200 students at 225,254 s.f. The school's common spaces (administrative, library, courtyard, cafetorium) are centrally located for ease of access. Groups of 2-3 "pods" (125 students per pod) flank both sides of science and common spaces in the academic wing. Elective spaces are located in the "noisy" wing, which provide access to specialty learning spaces, fields and outdoors, while still maintaining a separation from quieter academic settings. The classroom groupings or "pods" consist of four core subject classrooms and one science lab, organized around a teacher team/support workroom area. These pods allow for the creation of smaller 125 students "schools" within the larger campus. Each grouping was strategically placed for the district's standard grade level arrangements.