Keller ISD_Link Magazine Spring 2017/18 | Page 9

VLK LAUNCH As experts in educational facility planning, VLK Architects is always pushing the paradigm of school design forward and has created a process that promotes an active, collaborative dialogue between the design team and multiple stakeholders in a real time exchange of knowledge and ideas called VLK|LAUNCH. When we approach a project, be it a new school or modification to an existing campus, VLK|LAUNCH harnesses the community’s vision and creates multiple options that are developed and synthesized through a consensus building process to then develop the conceptual framework of the design. A natural momentum builds up during this process, as the convergence of this combination of tools, expertise, and community voice realizes greater creative potential, facilitates the gathering of complex information from multiple stakeholders, and gives VLK Architects the assurance that we are acting upon the most important priorities of our clients and their stakeholders. The results of this innovative process are on display most recently at both Keller High School and Vista Ridge Middle School. These projects represent the vision and values of Keller ISD students, parents, teachers, and administrators in those communities of Keller ISD. VLK|LAUNCH has also been utilized in our partnership with Keller ISD in staff development training. A group of Keller ISD principals participated in VLK|LAUNCH to study a new approach to collaborative problem solving that could be used in the classroom and in campus administration. In VLK’s work with the district updating district facility standards, VLK|LAUNCH was utilized to study new innovative learning environments for Keller ISD. With our emphasis on teamwork and cross-disciplinary collaboration, VLK|LAUNCH ensures our clients and their stakeholders of a process aligned with today’s next generation teaching and learning. We are so incredibly proud of our partnership with Keller ISD over the past 32 years and the ability to work with them through this process ensuring that the district maintain its excellence in education and school environment. -Sloan Harris VLK Architects Partner www.vlkarchitects.com AUSTIN DALLAS EL PASO FORT WORTH HOUSTON VLK Architects is a full-service architectural firm with expertise that revolves around decades of technical practice and standards that make us a leading innovator in design and architectural service. We have numerous design awards, multiple CHPS and LEED certified projects, many 9 of which derive from schools that were designed with our partner, Keller ISD.