Lakewood Elementary

Dallas, Texas

Opened in 1952, Lakewood Elementary School occupies a modest site in the center of a residential neighborhood with a growing school-age population. Since the 1950s, changes in pedagogy and increased enrollment have created the need for more space.

GFF was engaged by the Lakewood Elementary Expansion Foundation (LEEF,) a parent-organized non-profit foundation, to prepare a programming and feasibility study for the renovation and reorganization of the existing facility, in conjunction with a major addition which would double the original size of the school. The combined facility will replace all modular classrooms with new spaces and will accommodate all learning spaces in a single structure to eliminate the need for students to move between buildings. Additional classrooms will provide capacity for anticipated future growth, and new spaces designed for art, music and science will improve program capabilities. A new larger kitchen, servery and cafeteria will improve efficiency and reduce the number of lunch periods, and new parking and drives will improve vehicular traffic flow, increase safety, and provide adequate teacher parking.