General Marshall Middle School Earns AIA Austin Award

Middle school built on the site of a shuttered airport receives honor for creating a vertical campus to support different learning styles in a new urbanist neighborhood.

General Marshall Middle School in Austin’s Mueller “new urbanism” development recently received a Commendation Award for Enhanced Learning Spaces in the 2025 AIA Austin Design Awards.

The three-story, 130,000-square-foot campus reflects Austin ISD’s vision of “reinventing the urban school experience.” Built vertically around a central courtyard, the campus features collaborative learning spaces arranged in flexible learning neighborhoods, with a mix of classroom types and maker spaces on every level.

“This project brought together parents, community members, principals, teachers, to join the design team, to contribute, to really make sure that the learning that was available on campus reflected the community that it served,” one AIA Austin juror said, also praising the facilitation of multiple different learning styles from tech-rich environments, colabs and outdoor learning spaces. Another juror commented: “What stood out to me about this project is its clever breakdown of scale of a pretty large program and creates a variety of spaces that are scaled to different groupings. … The project creates very enhanced learning environments that tap into access to natural daylight, connection to the outdoors, high ceilings, very generous spaces, all of which can contribute to more positive experience in schools.”

The campus serves eight elementary schools from diverse communities beyond the Mueller development borders.

“The design reflects Austin ISD’s plan to build equity into the system, bringing students together from many different neighborhoods,” said LPA Director of K-12 Kate Mraw. “The campus provides a spectrum of flexible, collaborative learning spaces to support the district’s goals.”

General Marshall is the latest in a series of LPA projects in Austin to earn design honors, including the redevelopment of 70-year-old Casis Elementary School in Tarrytown. LPA is also working on the new Pflugerville City Hall, part of a public-private partnership led by Griffin Swinerton.

LPA recently opened a new Austin studio, as the integrated design firm expands its Texas footprint.

Built on a 10-acre site, General Marshall Middle is a model for a community’s commitment to education and an integral part of the larger redevelopment of the former Mueller airport. The campus connects to the 700-acre urbanist community with wide sidewalks, a network of bike lanes and a tree-lined, promenade entrance. The community room, library, roof deck, and sports facilities are shared with the community. The campus’ airport heritage is reflected in a large, wing-shaped roof, the aircraft hangar style of the gymnasium, and runway-inspired wayfinding graphics throughout the campus.

“The campus is designed to support the new urbanist ideals found throughout the Mueller community,” said LPA Design Director Federico Cavazos. “We were able to combine the learning and community goals on a challenging site.”

Read more about the design of the school.