GOOD THINKING

10

Back to School Edition 2016

BlueRibbonNews.com

A couple of summers from now, Rockwall 
ISD could see the completion of two 
highly-anticipated projects within its voter-
approved 2015 Bond Referendum. 

As the demolition process of the old Dobbs 
Elementary School building – which began 
in early June – comes to a close, folks 
can look forward to the construction of a 
brand new Dobbs Elementary building, 
anticipated to begin in Feb. 2017. During 

its June meeting, the Rockwall ISD 
School Board welcomed VLK Architects 
representatives, who presented the design 
plans for the new Dobbs building. 

Schematics for the facility indicate a strong 
sense of community within the design and 
layout of the floor plans, a concept VLK 
Principal Richard Jaynes said was very 
important to the teachers and staff of the 
school. The new layout has a similar look to 

that of the old Dobbs building and will even 
incorporate some of the salvaged material 
from the old school building into the new 
design. Jaynes said they made the decision 
to save some of the old gym floor and 
exterior brick to re-purpose in the 
new building.

“We have it in the specifications for the 
contractor to salvage about 50 percent of 
the gym floor, and also about 300 square 
feet of brick,” Jaynes said. 

Jan. 2017 will also see the anticipated 
start of construction for the Rockwall 
ISD College and Career Academy 
by Huckabee Architects. 

“The concepts that came out of our 
discussions in the planning and 
programming phase were very forward-
thinking, with the idea that this needs to be 
a highly collaborative, flexible and highly 
interactive project and plan,” said Konrad 
Judd with Huckabee Architects. “The heart 
of the building was centered around the 
multipurpose collaboration space, where 
Robotics and all the other programs in 
this facility will have access.”

In conjunction with the flexible and 
collaborative spaces, Judd said they also 
wanted to incorporate the idea of visual 
transparency. Schematics show a lot of 

tempered glass walls within the facility, 
allowing folks to see students learning and 
working while also quickly getting an idea 
of the types of career programs offered 
at the academy. 

Judd said they also designated several 
display areas for the students in Fashion 
and other programs to exhibit the work 
they’re doing. Both the first and second 
floors will also have flexible classroom 
spaces incorporating moveable walls, which 
can open up to allow any of the labs or 
departments to use as collaborative space.

One of the more uniquely-designed spaces 
of the facility actually resides on the 
outside, in full view of those coming down 
John King Blvd. The outdoor assembly 
space will utilize a projection screen on 
the exterior of the building to serve as a 
billboard advertising events taking place 
within the academy, and will also be used 
as an instructional space for classes.

“We worked really closely with your 
team and they were excellent in terms 
of suggesting this type of collaborative 
environment and the types of spaces in our 
designs,” Judd told the school board at its 
June meeting. “We believe collectively that 
this will be a very successful solution for 
your students and will be fun to advertise to 
young students as they look to make their 
way through this campus.”

Construction of both schools is expected 
to be completed in June 2018, with both 
campuses opening for students at the start 
of the 2018-2019 school year. 

Story by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News 
editor. Renderings courtesy Rockwall ISD.

NEW DOBBS ELEMENTARY, CAREER ACADEMY 

PROJECTS COMING SUMMER 2018

A Family Law Practice On 

The Historic Downtown 

Square of Rockwall, Texas

Voted BEST 

ATTORNEY

2016