T.A. Brown Elementary School

Austin Independent School District’s T.A. Brown Elementary School is a state-of-the-art, STEAM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning facility for 522 students. The new campus was built to incorporate spaces that allow collaborative, interdisciplinary, and project-based instruction in a flexible learning environment. Designers kept sustainability at the forefront of the project, with goals of achieving a LEED Silver rating and at a minimum, a two-star rating with the Austin Energy Green Building program.

The adaptable learning environment and sustainable systems throughout the building ensure this school will positively impact the lives of the students, teachers, faculty, and community. The school was completed on-time in January 2020, which allowed students to begin the spring semester in the new building.

According to interior designer Roberto Pruneda of ERO Architects, “When designing for high-traffic areas, we like to choose materials that are easy to maintain, durable, and long-lasting like ceramic tile. Ceramic tile is also non-toxic and free of harsh chemicals, which is ideal for areas continuously filled with students. We also wanted to use locally sourced materials that contributed to LEED certification and the building’s overall sustainability, so selecting Green Squared Certified ceramic tile was the obvious choice.”