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Project Details
Uvalde, TX
Uvalde CISD
116,000 square feet
Elementary School
800 Students, Grades 3-5
Legacy Elementary School stands as a testament to community resilience and collaborative design, replacing Robb Elementary School following the tragic events of May 24, 2022. This $62 million, 116,000 square foot campus represents the largest pro bono architectural effort in Fort Worth-based Huckabee’s history (now part of MOREgroup) and exemplifies trauma-informed design principles throughout its conception and execution.
The design process embraced Trauma-Informed Design principles, centering on listening, empathy, and trust-building. The team created a process for input and decision making that engaged a broad range of stakeholder groups, including families of victims and survivors. By creating a safe space for every voice to be heard, the team was able to meet stakeholders where they were, allow for a range of thoughts and emotions, and pace the process in a way that responded to the needs of all. The result is a building that is deeply shaped by the needs, concerns, and hopes of the Uvalde community.
Through thoughtful collaboration, the building design blends beautiful elements from a regional context of nature with the colorful cultural heritage of the community. The design incorporates unique elements that tie back to the region, including:
These elements carry through both exterior and interior design, creating a holistic connection between the built and natural environments.
The centerpiece of the new school is a wood tree sculpture located in the walkway between the outdoor courtyard and library, featuring 21 branches to honor each life lost at Robb Elementary: Two larger branches memorializing the teachers and 19 smaller branches memorializing the children.
In the Uvalde community, there are many heritage trees that create the town’s distinctive character, including those preserved in roadways and public spaces. These trees were originally protected through the early conservation efforts of Annie Robb, the former elementary school’s namesake. Around 1898, Robb led a grassroots fundraising campaign to save a grove of ancient live oak trees from being cut down for firewood. This early environmental stewardship helped establish Uvalde’s identity as a community defined by its majestic oak trees, earning it recognition as “the tree city.”
While this is a state-of-the-art campus, some of the most meaningful features are intentionally subtle—quiet gestures of remembrance and comfort that may not be obvious to an outside visitor but will be deeply understood and felt by the students, staff, and community.
The campus incorporates state-of-the-art security features that are discreetly integrated into the architecture, ensuring the campus feels open and welcoming while providing comprehensive safety. The design is special in this manner, taking an approach that is strong on safety and security while embedding these features in a way that is not apparent to the occupants of the building.
This campus established new educational specifications for Uvalde CISD, as no standards or educational specifications previously existed in the district. The project served as an educational effort for the district and its facilities team regarding recommendations for educational facilities.
The design reflects a step forward in educational building design and layout, coupled with intentional security zoning and layering that was specifically requested by the community stakeholders.
Legacy Elementary School stands as a symbol of community healing, resilience, and hope. Through unprecedented collaboration between architects, educators, law enforcement, community members, and families affected by the tragedy, the design creates a space that honors memory while fostering future learning and growth.
The project demonstrates how trauma-informed design principles can create educational environments that are both comprehensively secure and welcoming. Most importantly, it provides Uvalde’s children with a secure, inspiring place to learn, grow, and dream without fear.
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