Episcopal High School, a private school in Bellaire, Texas, hired Studio RED Architects for the second phase of their long-range campus master plan. The project goal was to recreate the existing Underwood Student Center, and the result is a world class facility supporting growth of over 800 students. The project provides additional space for students to gather for study, fellowship, meals, meetings, and extracurricular activities.

To achieve the vision, the existing Underwood Student Center and Alkek Gym, the oldest facilities on campus dating back to the 1950s, were demolished. The existing servery and kitchen was renovated to accommodate the new facility program. A new dining space accommodates 500 students and staff and is comprised of traditional and casual seating options to reflect a modern student culture equivalent to higher education atmospheres. Because the Student Center is more than a dining facility, spaces accommodate art exhibits, theater, STEM learning maker spaces, study areas, and faculty offices. A coffee shop is also included as an amenity to students and faculty. A large public plaza links the Student Center with the adjacent Trotter Academic Building and Hildebrand Athletic Center. The design and positioning of the project knits together older and newer areas of the campus, establishing a hub for student life, circulation, and activity.

The Crain Galloway Center for the Arts responds to longstanding limitations in EHS’s arts facilities, where instruction was housed in spaces not designed for contemporary arts education. The lack of purpose built instructional environments and the absence of a flexible, intermediate scale performance venue limited both curriculum delivery and performance opportunities.
The design approach prioritized strategic renovation to maximize impact within a disciplined budget, ensuring every arts discipline benefited from the project. Existing buildings were thoughtfully repurposed, while selective new construction was designed to complement the campus’s historic character. At the heart of the project is a versatile performance venue—distinct among independent schools in the greater Houston area—positioned to strengthen the campus’s arts core alongside the existing Chapel and Underwood Theater.
New and existing spaces connect seamlessly, maintaining continuity while introducing modern functionality. Studios were organized to take advantage of natural light, faculty offices were centrally located to support collaboration and student access, and each instructional space was equipped with technology tailored to its curriculum. The performance venue incorporates a tension grid and adjustable lighting systems that support a wide range of productions while providing safe, hands on learning opportunities in theater technology.
Shaped through a collaborative process that included faculty and community input, the project delivers broad impact across the entire arts program rather than focusing on a single discipline. The result is a flexible, future ready environment that elevates arts education at EHS and establishes the school as home to the only versatile performance venue of its kind for grade school education in the greater Houston area.