HED was hired to plan and design a Walnut Hill PK-8 school that would replace the existing Edward H. Cary Middle School, declared a total loss due to severe damage by a tornado in 2019 and also located on the same 40-acre site as a second school that HED is also the architect of record, Thomas Jefferson High School. Dallas Independent School District had planned to convert the middle school to an international language PK-8 school as part of the district’s 2020 bond program, but due to the loss decided to start the project immediately using emergency funding. HED, working in collaboration with Corgan Architects, planned and designed the new 126,600 SF facility with capacity to offer language immersion programs for 800 students.