en.Wedoany.com Reported - OMA has released new design renderings for a charter school in Houston's East End. The school, named the Frank Liu Jr. Academy of Music and Fine Arts (FLAMA), is a tuition-free, open-enrollment public charter school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Students will receive daily instruction in music and visual arts throughout their time at the school. Local firm RDLR Architects serves as the executive architect, with OMA acting as the design architect.
OMA is converting a historic industrial building into the FLAMA campus. The former Folgers Coffee Plant, built in the 1930s, spans 255,000 square feet across three stories. Folgers used the complex until the 1960s, after which other coffee companies operated there. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. It is now owned by Lovett Commercial, the real estate company of Frank Liu, after whom the school is named. Liu passed away in 2022 at the age of 34. Liu's family and FLAMA board members are currently advancing the school project.
OMA's task is to transform the plant into a "learning landscape" that supports FLAMA's mission. "Adapting a building is like retuning an instrument—recalibrating existing parts to sharpen inherited notes and inspire new resonances," said OMA partner Jason Long in a statement. "Our adaptation of the historic Folgers plant will selectively excavate and enhance the existing structure to create a vibrant environment for children to learn, practice, and perform."
Renderings released by OMA show that the brick exterior of the Folgers Coffee Plant will remain intact. A colorful, multi-hued courtyard will be built outside. OMA has also designed a new accessible ramp leading to the school bus drop-off area. This marks the second collaboration between Lovett and OMA, following the Post Houston project, where the two transformed a former post office into a mixed-use arts complex.
Faculty from the University of Houston, Rice University, Houston Christian University, and the University of Houston–Downtown will assist in training FLAMA educators. An OMA spokesperson told AN that more design details and images will be released in the coming months. FLAMA is expected to open in fall 2027.
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