G.W. Harby Junior High School

In response to community growth throughout Texas’ Alvin Independent School District (ISD), G.W. Harby Junior High underwent an extensive, multi-year renovation before reopening. In August 2023, the modernized 187,288-square-foot educational facility welcomed more than 700 students in grades 6-9 to their new classrooms and learning spaces.

GPD Group designed the school with updated amenities, products and materials. The design team selected Rockfon® Planar® Plus linear metal ceilings in a Metalwood® Oak finish for both the school’s interior, such as in the new library and collaborative learning areas, and on its exterior canopies for the sheltered gathering space.

Familiar with Rockfon’s product offering, the architects previously have specified metal and acoustic stone wool ceiling panels on other Houston-area schools. Acousti Engineering Company of Florida (AECO) also has installed Rockfon’s ceiling systems on numerous projects across the U.S. ¹

Established in 1980, the 40-year-old Harby Junior High School was in need of modernized, larger facilities to serve today’s students in a rapidly growing school district. The major renovation and expansion project began in June 2021. During the two and a half years of construction, the interior was razed completely down to its slab-and-tilt walls and then rebuilt while students were temporarily relocated to other schools.

Harby Junior High School’s revitalization included approximately 15,000 square feet of new metal ceilings from Rockfon installed by AECO. The metal ceiling panels’ wood-look finish provides a timeless, warm, contemporary appearance and high performance.³

In the new library, the distinctive ceiling design forms an undulating, wave over the group instruction zones and reading areas, flowing down the wall tops above the book stacks. In the collaborative flex-spaces, the metal panels cascade from the ceiling, curving down to clad the interior accent wall.

Connecting interior and exterior spaces, Rockfon’s wood-look metal ceiling extends outside as a canopy covering the gathering area for students and staff. Both inside and outside, the metal panels provide accessibility to the security, sprinklers, lighting, cameras and the other components integrated within the plenum and concealed by the ceiling.³

The durable metal minimizes cleaning and maintenance, helping Alvin ISD save labor, time and costs over a long lifespan. Supporting the health and well-being of students and staff, Rockfon’s metal ceilings do not contain organic compounds that would support mold and microbial growth or pests. These products also can be specified with up to 100 percent recycled content and is 100 percent locally recyclable at the end of its useful life as a ceiling panel.

The renovation and expansion of Harby Junior High School was completed in 2023, adding more than 35,000 square feet of classroom space. Other updates included a performance stage plus enhanced security and safety features. The school’s traffic flow and student pick-up areas were overhauled, and sidewalks added for pedestrian connections to the adjoining neighborhoods.³

The total renovation and expansion of Harby Junior High School brings the facility up to date and in alignment with the quality offered by other schools in the fast-growing Alvin ISD. By replacing aging materials and amenities with modern building systems, including Rockfon’s metal ceilings, Harby Junior High School provides students and faculty with a contemporary, comfortable, healthy and easily maintained environment to support academic and operational success for years to come.

^Sources

^{¹ (installation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Far_5lMHqQM; 
(size) https://www.virtualbx.com/bid-bulletin/harby-junior-high-school-expansion-renovation-phase-2b-package-alvin-isd-subbid/; (enrollment) https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/pearland/article/alvin-isd-new-renovated-schools-18279248.php}

^{² https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Far_5lMHqQM; https://www.alvinisd.net/article/950226}

^{³ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Far_5lMHqQM; https://www.alvinisd.net/article/1174340}

^{⁴ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Far_5lMHqQM}