​A look inside one of the coolest schools on the drawing board for Houston

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The new Chinese Mandarin Language Immersion Magnet School will feature an open concept, LED lighting and ample natural light.

Jenny Agee-Aldridge

Reporter- Houston Business Journal

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Gone are the days of boxy classrooms flooded with fluorescent lights.

New designs on the drawing board for proposed schools in the Houston area — and there are a lot of them thanks to upcoming bond referendums — are innovative and engaging. But plans for the new Chinese Mandarin Language Immersion Magnet School, slated for an 8-acre parcel on West Alabama Street in the Galleria area, look like nothing you've seen before.

Designed by Houston-based PBK, the new campus will have two separate buildings connected by a bridge. The inspiration for the design comes from the Chinese character for the word "brightness," which combines the words sun and moon. The sun side of the campus will feature a three-story library, which will anchor the classrooms. The moon side will feature high-activity areas, such as the cafeteria, music classes and gym. An edible garden will center the complex.

"It's a unique concept. We worked with the community on the design through a process called charette, which means we took their suggestions back to our office and incorporated them into the design during a two-day process," said Richard Chi, partner and director of design for PBK, which has designed more than 200 schools including a middle and high school proposed for Katy ISD.

The Mandarin Language Immersion Magnet School will also feature a space for community gatherings and celebrations. The school will house 904 students in pre-K through eighth grade. Teachers instruct students in core subjects speaking to them half of the time in Mandarin Chinese and the other half in English.

The school is currently located at 6300 Avenue B in Bellaire only goes through fifth grade. The new campus will allow the school to expand to also serve middle school students.

Jenny Agee-Aldridge covers commercial real estate and retail for the Houston Business Journal.