KAI Designs Modern Laboratory for Learning

Planned as a replacement school for the H.S. Thompson Learning Center, KAI designed the new H.S. Thompson Elementary School in South Dallas, Texas as a beacon for academic excellence.

Built on the site of the previous school, the new $30 million school supports science, technology, engineering, arts and math education and uses research-based instruction that challenges students through learning experiences aimed at preparing them for better outcomes and future success.

Opened to students in January 2022, the two-story, 73,000-square-foot school features:

• 23 core classrooms for kindergarten through fifth grade
• Pre-K wing
• Seven science classrooms
• Two special education classrooms
• Classrooms for art, music and dance
• Library and media center
• Makerspace
• Exterior play areas
• Gymnasium
• Cafetorium, including stage storage, equipment room and multipurpose room

The initial phase of work on the project included master planning the site for a pre-K through eighth grade elementary school and future middle school expansion (sixth-eight grade). The design team developed four site schemes for review by the Dallas Independent School District, which selected a smaller building footprint with more outdoor spaces.

The main entry is secured requiring all visitors to access the facility through the administrative reception area.

The building was designed to serve as a beacon highlighting and broadcasting the familial pride and nurturing of the students by the community, its parents and other adults from the Bonton area of Dallas. The library sits above the secure primary entry in a double-height volume with views to downtown and Fair Park.

The primary active spaces such as gymnasium and cafetorium with its raised stage and sound-reducing moveable partitions, are placed in such a way that students and educators can use them by day while the community has access after school hours without having to enter the rest of the academic spaces.