jee Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I moved to Houston in the 9th grade and attened a Cypress-Fairbanks ISD high school. I thought the building was huge....and unbearable. The classrooms are packed back to back with hallways separating them. There were no windows...only the art classroom and the portable buildings had windows. Even the big "common" area where you eat lunch has no windows. From the street, the building looks like a warehouse. I really didn't like the fact that there are no windows in the classrooms....felt like a prison. All the cy-fair ISD schools are like this. Are the other houston schools like this also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Yep, there's plenty of schools that are just like that here in the Houston area, and if they're over 25 years old, they're probably paying the price for that design with mold problems. Flat roofs (poor drainage), no windows (poor air circulation), carpet on the floors (wicks up the moisture like a sponge and grows the mold underneath), dropped ceilings with acoustic ceiling tiles (allows moisture related problems to remain unseen and unchecked for years), etc. At Northampton Elementary this year, there are approximately 60 trailers that were brought in to house the nearly 1,000 students and staff while that school goes through a mold remediation process. I have heard that the children, while not keen on being in trailers near the train tracks (VERY NOISY!) do happen to love the WINDOWS that are on the trailers, because they've never had that..Kinda related to "schools"...Connecticut sues over the No Child Left Behind unfunded mandate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I would like to design a cool school to make childern want to go to school. Build a school in a place like the Sugar Land Town Square and make it blend with the rest of the buildings. Then inside have lounges with couches and computer study rooms and and eating area that does not nessesarlly serve food because they can walk around the town center and get lunch from places there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I would like to design a cool school to make childern want to go to school. Build a school in a place like the Sugar Land Town Square and make it blend with the rest of the buildings. Then inside have lounges with couches and computer study rooms and and eating area that does not nessesarlly serve food because they can walk around the town center and get lunch from places there.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I also like what HCC has done. They have continuously been able to buy underperforming Real Estate (old office buildings, big boxes, or retired HISD property) and made them work. I understand that this does not neccesarily solve the problems of being windowless in the case of big boxes, but the old office buildings work great. I realize that the size of the student body procludes the use of most office buildings, but HCC has made do with smaller campuses and has built around the existing real estate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I would like to design a cool school to make childern want to go to school. Build a school in a place like the Sugar Land Town Square and make it blend with the rest of the buildings. Then inside have lounges with couches and computer study rooms and and eating area that does not nessesarlly serve food because they can walk around the town center and get lunch from places there.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Try Kincaid, Episcopal, St. Johns and many other private schools. The campuses are beautiful with all the amenities you mentioned. Of course that does not help the 95% of kids who are stuck in public school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brijonmang Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I moved to Houston in the 9th grade and attened a Cypress-Fairbanks ISD high school. I thought the building was huge....and unbearable. The classrooms are packed back to back with hallways separating them. There were no windows...only the art classroom and the portable buildings had windows. Even the big "common" area where you eat lunch has no windows. From the street, the building looks like a warehouse. I really didn't like the fact that there are no windows in the classrooms....felt like a prison. All the cy-fair ISD schools are like this. Are the other houston schools like this also?<{POST_SNAPBACK}>if you would go back by there today you would see a lot has changed...there was a $25 mill renovation a few years back that dramatically changed the look of cy fair...i know cuz i just graduated there in '04. most of the cy fair schools are older but the newer ones do a better job of incorporating the indoors and outdoors through windows and patios/decks. you should go by cy fair and take a tour of it today...it has really changed since you last were there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToolMan Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 The teachers always told us there were no windows because they cause to much distraction and daydreaming.I thought it was BS, but now that I think about it - I do daydream looking outside my office window a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banking214 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 The teachers always told us there were no windows because they cause to much distraction and daydreaming.I thought it was BS, but now that I think about it - I do daydream looking outside my office window a lot.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>That is good. I thought the same thing until I started working. Now, I catch myself daydreaming all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 The teachers always told us there were no windows because they cause to much distraction and daydreaming.Yeah, I always heard that, too. I suspect though that the main reason they went to the "big box" syndrome was because they (the local school board) were convinced that it was more efficient for the HVAC systems. Who knew thirty years down the pike what a mistake it all would turn out to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 school districts and indoor air quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Try Kincaid, Episcopal, St. Johns and many other private schools. The campuses are beautiful with all the amenities you mentioned. Of course that does not help the 95% of kids who are stuck in public school.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>I went to Strake Jesuit for HS.A nice campus, despite several horrlbe 1960s buildings. They maintain it well and since the school is also an art museum, there are some interesting sculptures all over campus.The atmosphere is nice, but Houston public schools need real education reform more than inspiring architecture. I think the KIPP model is good for HISD and other public school districts, unless they want to go with vouchers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 (edited) My campus is not very impressive at all - It is a former elementary school located in the middle of southern Houston. However it has tons of windows and tons of glass. It also has a large courtyard and a basketball court out back. Also, there is a room called the "senior lounge" with couches and amenities for the seniors.In addition to lots of windows and natural light, schools should have some on-premises offerings like Starbucks, Quiznos, and Chik-Fil-A. In addition, many kids from Lamar go across the street for lunch (the center has a Subway and a Red Beans and Rice shop). Technically the students are not allowed to do that, but AFAIK enforcement is lax. Edited November 21, 2006 by VicMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas911 Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 What a freaking farce the MOLD scare is. Its the modern day radon and asbestos scare, trumped up by lawyers to make a quick buck. Note to losers who are scared of mold, there is mold all over the place not just inside the building, its outdoors in the air! Mold is not dangerous, unsightly, but not dangerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 Warehouse or Prison?take your pick.......I choose prison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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