ZEST, ZEAL,VERVE A

HIGH SCHOOL’S JOURNEY FROM BLIGHT TO BRIGHT

By Alexander Quintanilla, AIA

“When looking at the mural the first three words that come to mind are colorful, geometric, and energetic — words that would not typically be used to describe a building in downtown Dallas, and on top of that, a school in downtown Dallas.”

Imagine stepping back in time to when you were in high school. Hopefully you were proud of the way your high school looked; maybe it had a brick facade with the school’s name carved in stone on the front or maybe it had a large football stadium that everyone talked about.

One thing is for sure: CityLab students are proud of theirs. Why? Because they designed a striking mural on the front of their school. And because this mural tells a story.

Constructed in 1977, the unassuming five-story, cement block building at 922 S. Ervay in Dallas did little to add to the neighborhood around it. The L-shaped seriously lacked character, with blank walls on four of its six sides. When it became CityLab High School in 2017, it failed to reflect the pioneering spirit of its bright young students, staff, and teachers.

When the proposal to liven up the building with a student-designed mural across the front arose, it received funding from the CityLab HS Foundation, an independent nonprofit group that advocates for the school, as well as from Downtown Dallas Inc.’s Matching Grant, which funds improvements to public spaces throughout the city’s center.

With funding secured, CityLab students set off to design a unique mural for their school. Led by former teacher and school co-founder Peter Goldstein, AIA, and by Janeil Engelstad and Delaney Smith of Making Art with Purpose (MAP), the students each hand-drew colored perspective renderings. Each proposal included a mural title and a narrative explaining the design. There were several extraordinary proposals, making it difficult to choose just one. After several iterations, the final design featured geometric shapes of blue, yellow and black, rising from the ground plane and dissipating near the third floor. The mural is titled “Zest/Zeal/Verve,” because, in the words of CityLab HS graduate Dylan Zarrabi: “When looking at the mural the first three words that come to mind are colorful, geometric, and energetic – words that would not typically be used to describe a building in downtown Dallas, and on top of that, a school in downtown Dallas. ... When looking at the three words for our art piece, one thing is clear – these words all share a similar meaning, and that meaning is ‘full of life.’ My view is that the mural creates a sense of curiosity and interest about the school while simultaneously reinforcing the idea that CityLab is a new school and that it is not only an architecture school, but an environment where young minds thrive, and innovation is not resisted but is instead encouraged.”

The next task for the students was to submit the design to City Hall for approval. Their proposal needed to comply with requirements for Dallas’ Special Purpose Sign District, an area in downtown where regulations for signs, banners, and murals are more restrictive. After navigating through the different processes, applications, and city departments, the students obtained a Certificate of Appropriateness for their mural.

As time came to finally paint the school walls, Eyecon Studios of Dallas joined the project. Eyecon also painted The Storm at Crockett and San Jacinto streets as well as the side of Bishop Street Market in Bishop Arts, among others. Led by Chris Arnold, the team carefully replicated the student’s work. Day by day, students could slowly see their mural come to life. Finally, in early September 2020, the mural was completed. It had been a long journey for the students and the teams involved, but the work was well worth it. A forgettable building now stands a proud contributor to the surrounding neighborhood. More important, it tells a story about the bright young minds who occupy it every day.