John Cooper's Rock Center in The Woodlands wins landmark award

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The John Cooper School’s newest campus facility, the Rock Math + Science Center, has been honored by The Houston Business Journal's 2017 Landmark Awards.

The annual awards recognize outstanding real estate by identifying projects that make a significant impression on the greater Houston landscape.

There were 56 projects named as 2017 Landmark Award finalists in 19 categories. The Rock Math + Science Center was one of three finalists in the Educational Facility category and was named the winner at an awards ceremony held in Houston on April 20. The three-story, 50,000-square-foot educational facility, affectionately called “The Rock,” opened in August 2016 and is designed for project-based learning.

The open design spans three stories of instructional space for math, science, robotics, technology and engineering courses. Features include flexible and collaborative spaces, an environmentally conscious interior and exterior, touch screens, writable walls, a 135-seat lecture hall, a robotics lab, a rooftop garden/observation area and a college-like outdoor courtyard.

The imaginative concept and building design facilitates interdisciplinary learning and enables multiple activities to take place simultaneously. “The addition of The Rock has provided a burst of energy and enthusiasm throughout our entire school,” said Head of School Mike Maher. “The quality of teaching and learning in this state-of-the-art facility has inspired all of our teachers and students to be creative and innovative in their academic pursuits.”

The inspiration for the SMART Capital Campaign and the $18 million facility was a quote from Albert Einstein, “Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” It was a collaborative effort on behalf of administrators, faculty and parents to work with Ziegler Cooper Architects to make a vision a reality.

John Cooper School parent and board trustee, Johnna Edone, led the SMART Capital Campaign that has raised over $15 million to date. Lead donors, and the building’s namesake, are Doug and Julie Rock. “We are very grateful to all who have invested in this educational facility that is designed to challenge students with extensive problem solving and facilitate inquiry based investigation in a collaborative teaching and research environment,” Edone said.

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