HOUSTON, TX VLK Architects attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Houston ISD's Energy Institute High School. HISD district officials, administrators, and students were in attendance to celebrate the beginning of construction on this new concept high school set to open in the second quarter of 2018. The new $37 million facility will be modeled after a high-tech, corporate environment to match the unique mission and structure of Energy Institute High School. 

Energy Institute High School opened in 2013 and is the first magnet school in the U.S. to offer a school-wide energy theme. The school emphasizes project-based learning, an educational concept that helps students to hone their critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills by having them work on projects with peers rather than alone. The new Energy Institute will be 110,000 square feet and will accommodate 800 students. A central courtyard with cascading stairs and trellis visible from the front entry will be surrounded by three main, multi-level buildings with flexible spaces where students can work on projects together. 

The new Energy Institute will be located on Southmore Boulevard, nestled in the heart of Houston's Third Ward, just west of downtown Houston, Texas. The new facility is expected to become a vital part of the surrounding community. 

Other highlights from the ceremony included student-engineered robots tasked with formally breaking ground at the site and a metal beam that was available for everyone to sign. The beam will help create the frame of the building and will remain an important part of the school structure, just as the people who signed it are important to the success of Energy Institute High School.