Uvalde’s new Legacy Elementary School opens, three years after the Robb Elementary mass shooting
Three years after the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, the new Legacy Elementary School has opened in Uvalde, Texas, replacing Robb Elementary.
The $62 million school will educate students in the third through fifth grades starting this fall. The two-story, 116,000-sf campus includes 36 classrooms (12 per grade level) and can serve up to 800 students.
Architecture firm Huckabee, now part of MOREgroup, designed a safe, light-filled, and trauma-informed space following months of community input. Huckabee donated its architectural services to the project.
Architectural Details Inspired by the Uvalde Region
Legacy Elementary’s centerpiece is a large oak tree sculpture, which has two large branches memorializing the two teachers and 19 smaller branches memorializing the 19 children who lost their lives on May 24, 2022.
The school’s colors and designs draw on the area’s cultural heritage and natural beauty. Interior and exterior design elements reference the colors of the region’s sunsets, large native oak trees, and the Frio River.
The exterior uses materials prevalent in the region, such as natural limestone veneer and reddish orange brick veneer. The library’s wall art features monarch butterflies (Uvalde is on the butterfly’s migration path) and honeybees (the town has been dubbed the Honey Capital of the World).
The interior comprises three main sections: the academic wing, including the library, administration, and classrooms; the cafeteria, which has a performance platform and music room; and the gymnasium.
Other spaces include STEM classrooms; dedicated science, music, and art rooms; collaboration spaces; and multipurpose areas.
Enhanced School Safety Features in Uvalde’s New Campus
The school’s state-of-the-art security features have been discreetly integrated, ensuring the campus feels open and welcoming while providing safety.
In addition to layered security control with intentional zoning throughout the campus, the security elements include a secure visitor entrance with contained vestibule requiring identification and clearance, eight-foot-tall privacy gates, keyless entry points, door looks and security cameras, bullet-resistant glazing, door-prop alarms, and advanced perimeter security.
The project’s sustainability features include shading devices on the south-facing windows and high-efficiency, roof-top heat pumps.
Following the groundbreaking in October 2023, construction on Legacy Elementary began in February 2024. The school opened this month for students and staff.
On the building team: Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (owner), Huckabee (architect and structural engineer), Baird, Hampton & Brown Inc. (MEP engineer), Pape-Dawson (civil engineer), Studio 16:19 (landscape architect), Satterfield & Pontikes (S&P) (contractor).