The team at Richard Drummond Davis Architect has been wielding their pencils on a very special back-to-school project.

Plans are on the boards for The Center for Cognitive and Mediated Learning Solutions, which is part of Texas Can! and the Dallas Can! Academies.  The new Center, which will be located across the street from one of the existing Dallas Can! buildings, will be dedicated to serving anyone facing learning challenges or educational deficiencies.

 

 

The project got its start when Robin Hutchison, President of Can! Academy Education Foundation, approached Richard Davis about designing the new facility.  Richard has been an active supporter of Dallas Can! and, consequently, was already familiar with the important work that the organization carries out.

Robin and the Foundation leaders already had in mind that they wanted a contemporary building.  They came to RDDA with photographs of buildings they liked.  With these images as a starting point Richard and his team got busy drafting ideas for the new Center.  The result is a sophisticated, yet approachable design, reflecting the energy and innovation that embodies the core values of Dallas Can! and all of the activities the organization carries out.

Richard and design team member, Miguel Ramirez, carefully selected a palette of materials for the exterior elevations.  The combination of corrugated and formed metal panels, white and cream-colored Texas limestone, and large expanses of glass are artfully brought together to offer a variety of interlaced materials and colors to enhance the exterior facades.  The extensive use of glass lends a welcoming atmosphere of openness and accessibility—a feature that is vital to the success of the Center and the clients it serves.

The entry way is located at the corner of the site, strategically located on a diagonal directed toward one of Dallas Can! Academy’s existing facilities across the street.  As a result, the two buildings will be visually linked with one another with easy access from one building to another.
The roofline above the entrance corresponds to the circular staircase in the entry lobby.  The result is a contemporary rotunda, which accents both the interior and exterior of the building.

The exteriors of the building are dominated by an ongoing series of interlocking rectangles, oriented both vertically and horizontally. Open spaces and the glass of the windows create voids that compliment the solid surfaces of the limestone and metal panels.  In turn, the materials overlap and flow together, unifying the individual sections of the façade. The careful combination of materials, textures, and shapes, results in a vibrant, innovative building that boldly expresses contemporary design ideas.

RDDA looks forward to continuing the partnership with Dallas Can! on this “back-to-school” project!

Regards, Richard Drummond Davis Architects