Cannon Elementary School is one of GCISD’s STEM campuses, and we wanted the design of the building to reflect its unique programmatic offerings. Together with the district’s STEM Director and campus principal, we worked to understand their vision for the space. The building’s environmental graphics reflect and aid instruction.
Different parts of the building have different design focuses: outer space, thermal climate zones, and curriculum-based designs. Interactive, museum-like graphics are informative and display curriculum themes throughout the building. We use floor-to-ceiling graphics to emphasize scale and key concepts.
For example, one graphic highlights life-size species and helps kids scale themselves relative to the height, wingspan, and length of each animal. A planetary system expands down the hallway, sharing facts about each planet. Graphics of thermal climate zones display Cannon’s campus as the reference point on the worldwide map. The dinning commons have pictographs of conservation, ecosystems, recycling, and sustainability, reinforcing the informative nature of graphics. Unique to this campus’s story, the main foyer features a large piece about Mr. Cannon, the school’s namesake.
All color palettes complement the colors used for the interiors, enhancing the cohesion of the campus. Through the use of environmental graphics, branding, signage and wayfinding, wall graphics, installation, photography, and art murals, the design of this building supplements the instruction happening within its walls.
