Once we had children, my wife Sarah said we needed to move to a high performing school district, and we chose Spring Branch ISD. Both of my daughters went to Frostwood ES, Memorial MS and graduated from Memorial HS, seemingly following Ms. Weir from middle school to high school. Lasting friendships were created for our children and ourselves through numerous school activities. If that was not enough, I was fortunate to work in the Planning and Construction Department where my eyes were opened to the challenges of being a public servant. There I learned the importance of communication with so many stakeholders. Important decisions are made daily with multiple accountable departments and processes need to be followed. I enjoyed my time there and with great enthusiasm, I am pleased to share some information about VLK. With a deep understanding of both your district and VLK, I’m confident that we bring the expertise, dedication, and shared passion for public education that you seek in an architectural partner.
INTEREST: VLK is pleased to briefly introduce our firm qualifications and express our strong desire to partner with Spring Branch Independent School District on your recent May Bond projects. As experts in educational and athletic facility planning and designs, we are excited for the opportunity to be considered as a qualified professional service provider. Serving our shared community of students and educators is a privilege and we are proud of our history of delivering tailored solutions to many educational clients around the state.
EXPERIENCE: VLK has 40 years of experience delivering innovative architectural solutions for Texas public schools. Our firm was founded on educational design, which remains our primary focus. Having worked with numerous school districts across the state of Texas, we understand the challenges your district faces and are eager to leverage our experience and knowledge with a focus on listening and commitment to service to provide you with tailored architectural services to meet these demands. We have athletic experience at every level of competition all over the state from a major league baseball stadium to a variety of public school support facilities.
TEAM STRUCTURE FOR SPRING BRANCH ISD: As Principal-in-Charge, I will personally oversee every phase of this project from initiation through completion to ensure a focused, responsive approach. Our team structure is designed to be both efficient and adaptable, enabling us to deliver high-quality results while remaining responsive to your needs. For this project, I have assembled a top-tier team of athletic facility experts, including our accomplished Director of Athletics, the former Deputy Superintendent of Allen ISD, and the Athletic Director of Denton ISD. Supported by our experienced in-house staff and trusted engineering and consulting partners, all of whom bring extensive expertise in athletic facility design and operation, VLK is well-positioned to meet the unique demands of your project. You can be confident that each aspect will receive the dedicated attention it deserves.
I fully understand that our firm’s success is completely dependent on your satisfaction. Put your TRUST into a team that will LISTEN to your needs and DELIVER what you desire.
Thank you for your consideration.
David Valerius, AIA Principal-In-Charge VLK
20445 TX-249, Suite 350 Houston, TX 77070
M: 713.825.7367
KEY PERSONNEL
DAVID VALERIUS, AIA, LEED® AP Principal-in-Charge
David serves as Principal-in-Charge to Spring Branch ISD, his responsibilities include fostering collaboration between our team of experts and SBISD throughout a rigorous design process, extending through the construction phase and final project completion.
With over 35 years of experience in the design and construction industry, David has primarily focused on serving school districts in various capacities, including his previous role as Project Manager for Spring Branch ISD. In this capacity, he successfully managed significant projects, including field turf installations, synthetic track installations, and tennis court resurfacing at notable schools such as Northbrook HS, Memorial HS, Spring Woods HS, and Stratford HS. His tenure with the SBISD Planning and Construction Department has equipped David with invaluable insights into the operational dynamics, processes, and expectations of the Spring Branch staff, enhancing his ability to deliver projects that align with their vision and goals.
JUSTIN HILES, AIA, NCARB, LEED® AP BD+C
Chief Information Officer | Director of Athletics
DANIEL PITCOCK
Justin is an accomplished architect with 23 years of experience at VLK, where he currently serves as the Director of Athletic Projects. Justin's deep understanding of sports enables him to provide exceptional design solutions tailored to meet the needs of student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and spectators alike. His dedication serves as a cornerstone for delivering top-notch athletic facilities that enhance performance and experience for all involved.
He has contributed on more than 100 athletic projects, including district stadiums and Major League Baseball stadiums, demonstrating his versatility and expertise. His capability and broad knowledge serves as a resource for all VLK’s athletic projects.
Beyond athletic projects, Justin has led some of VLK's most prestigious initiatives, including the firm's first Career & Technical Education Center and the first two automotive dealership projects. He has held key leadership roles, including Architecture Director and Chief Operations Officer, overseeing operations across all firm offices.
As Chief Experience Officer, Daniel activates client experience initiatives to deliver differentiated brand experiences that build client loyalty, advocacy, and team cohesion. His role includes the oversight of VLK’s experiential design studio (XD), marketing department, and bond campaign planning, as well as leading VLK’s employee experience to ensure team members embody VLK’s client promise and deliver brand expectations. Daniel has 27 years of experience in public education where he previously served in several roles, from teacher/coach up through Deputy Superintendent for Allen ISD for 15 years. Daniel served as a liaison to the city and community for all district projects. He oversaw the Operations Department including Facilities, Maintenance, Technology, Transportation, Community Services, Student Nutrition, and Safe and Secure Schools.
FIRM EXPERIENCE
KNOWLEDGE OF ATHLETIC DESIGN
VLK’s athletic facility experience ranges from Texas high school athletics to the Southeastern Conference Universities. We have taken on many specialty athletic facilities during our 40 years of experience, many of which have been one off facilities which are considered to be the best in their field.
Creating district-wide athletic facilities creates unique challenges not typical of educational athletic facilities. These facilities are used for educational programs, athletic training, and competitions of varying scale, and are utilized by the community. The varying uses and different user groups create special challenges in the organization of the facility. The facility must be organized to allow use of specific areas, but must be secured to prohibit entry into areas not being used.
Special attention is required to create flexible, secure, and adaptable facilities to support athletic teams engaged in competition and spectators attending events. The overall facility must flex or adapt to a changing special needs when large events are held in the venue. And the facility must adapt to allow community use of select portions of the facility.
Competition events require a specific understanding of the space requirements of typical team facilities and the unique requirements of venues for athletic competition. Site planning must accommodate buses for competitions and private vehicles for participants and spectators. Service access and staging areas are needed to provide for special equipment needs and to provide for event staging.
Specific program needs guide the design of facilities to house sports teams. Typical team accommodations include locker and team meeting space, short term equipment storage, training areas, and office and locker space for coaching staff. In contrast, the team facilities for a district completion facility include these typical spaces, but may need to adapt to
the changing needs of the facility. For example, four locker areas might meet the needs for many competitions, but a larger competition might require team spaces to accommodate more teams. On past projects, we have used operable walls to partition locker rooms to provide flexibility and increase the capacity for “team” spaces.
Weight rooms and Training rooms in a shared use facility create unique challenges in creating a secure, safe environment that can be monitored and controlled with a minimal staff.
Gymnastics, wrestling, and natatoriums have extensive storage requirements for sports equipment. The placement and access to this equipment storage is critical for the efficient set up for competition, training, special events or practice. We understand how to create a simple, secure solution to these storage needs.
Arenas and competition venues present unique challenges that require an understanding of the special needs of the individual sports and the challenges of staging large events with multiple teams and fan bases. In addition, an understanding of how to design an arena requires special knowledge of sight lines for stadium seating and the special needs of event staging spaces. The goal in the design of a functional arena or competition space is to create a flexible venue that meets present needs and anticipates the challenges of unanticipated uses in the future.
Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD Eagle Stadium Replacement
Eagle Stadium at Rotary Field is the home to the Pecos High School Eagles and serves as the premier event stadium for the district. This new stadium sits on the previous stadium site, land that has been the site of athletic events for over 90 years in the community. The project included a new press box, home grandstands, visitor bleachers, concession stands, and restrooms.
Denton ISD Carrico Stadium
The Carrico Athletic complex includes 7,000 seat capacity, with a horizontal one story press box and intimate seating built around an existing synthetic turf field with an eight-lane track. Grandstands were purposely lowered and extended to the edges of the end zones so all seats are as close to the action as possible. Two large video boards keep the spectators engaged in the play on the field and both home and visitor locker rooms stage the athletes before, during and after the game. Stand alone home and visitor concession, restroom, and storage facilities were added to each respective side while concession and restroom spaces are also available underneath the home grandstand.
Hutto ISD Memorial Stadium Improvements
Hutto Memorial Stadium Improvements provide seating capacity for 10,000, as well as a new visitor field house, new concession and restroom facilities for home and visitors side, renovated 18x36 scoreboard, new multi-level press box with filming deck, and site improvements to support these facilities built around the existing track and field
ISD Knight Stadium
The new multipurpose facility at Eagle Mountain High School includes a football and soccer competition stadium with a 7,520-seat grandstand and press box, eight lane track, concessions, restrooms, storage, and adjacent field house. The field house provides coaching, training, and locker room space for home and visiting teams. Natural light and view were important in the design and it is refreshing and inviting to everyone that walks through the gates. The wayfinding is intuitive because the architectural cues guide you through the field house and assist in being a hub of activity for the students and coaches.
Texas A&M University Cox McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball
This state-of-the-art basketball practice facility is the home for both the Men’s and Women’s teams at Texas A&M University. Located on and adjoining the south side of Reed Arena the three-story facility provides separate facilities for both teams, including offices, court-and-a-half practice courts, locker rooms, multi-media rooms, players lounges and training facilities, including a weight room. A grand lobby hosts pre and post game functions. A video system throughout the building is capable of showing game films in coach’s offices and meeting rooms, various sport channels in lounges, and running messages paging players and coaches. Located on and adjoining the south side of Reed Arena the threestory facility is designed to achieve a LEED® Silver Rating from the USGBC. Sustainable design elements include high efficiency HVAC system, energy efficient lighting and control system, local and regional materials, low emitting VOC materials, reduction of heat islands, and public transportation access.
The new Worthy Fate High School Arena is a 2,200-seat, horseshoe-shaped, multi-purpose facility designed to host a variety of athletic competitions and events. Notably, the expansive glass facade along the north wall allows an abundance of natural light, creating an inviting and energetic atmosphere. The sunken floor design ensures a distinct separation between athletes and spectators while offering excellent sightlines, making every seat feel like the best in the venue. The main lobby provides convenient access to concessions and restrooms for all attendees.
Katy ISD Katy High School Baseball Stadium
The growing popularity of Katy High School baseball neccessitated a field upgrade to accomodate up to 1,200 spectators. The project entailed a new press box, new concession stand, new restroom facilities, aluminum bleachers for 1,200, a new pitcher's mound, renovations to the bullpen and dugouts, and a new backstop with concrete block, poles, and net.
EMS ISD Baseball/Softball Complex
The baseball and softball complex at Eagle Mountain High School took advantage of the sloped site to embed the grandstands into the hill to provide superb sightlines for the spectators. Entering the complex through a covered portal, spectators stand high above each field and have views of both before heading to their seats. The concession/restroom building is near the entry allowing fans to be engaged with the action even if they leave their seat. At field level, the athletes have a professional feel with an enclosed dugout, batting cages, warmup areas, and separate home and visitor bullpens. The bowl setting for each stadium gives the teams a home field advantage from anywhere else they will play.
