Gensler and Huckabee Finish Fort Worth College Revamp
A multi-year campus redevelopment project in Fort Worth modernizes facilities damaged by a 2017 tornado.
Updated on Oct. 16, 2026 in Higher Education
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Architects Gensler and Huckabee have completed a comprehensive eight-year redevelopment of a Tarrant County College campus. The project replaces structures from the 1970s that suffered from structural failures and storm damage.
Why it matters
The renovation addresses significant safety concerns and maintenance issues while implementing a new wayfinding system to improve student navigation across the campus. It replaces aging infrastructure that had become compromised by time and severe weather.
The redevelopment encompasses four buildings completed over an eight-year timeline. The project utilizes a glass-to-masonry ratio ranging between 60/40 and 70/30 across the updated facilities.
The players
Gensler
Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm that collaborated on the redesign of the campus.
Huckabee
Huckabee is an architecture firm specializing in educational facilities that partnered on the construction project.
Tarrant County College
Tarrant County College is the higher education institution that operates the campus in Fort Worth.
The details
The project involved constructing a new building and renovating three existing structures, connected by a central promenade that divides the campus into east and west sections. Designers utilized black iron-spot brick, gray stucco, and color-coded aluminum composite panels to improve both aesthetic durability and ease of navigation.
Timeline
1970s: The original campus facilities were constructed.
2017: A tornado caused significant damage to the campus facade.
2018: College leadership initiated the search for design proposals.
October 2026: The campus redevelopment project reached final completion.
Culture Shift
This project reflects a broader movement in higher education toward prioritizing campus safety and intuitive wayfinding in response to aging infrastructure vulnerabilities. It marks a transition from legacy layouts to unified, climate-responsive designs that define modern institutional spaces.
Students and faculty can now utilize new, modernized learning spaces designed for better accessibility and flow. The updated facade and color-coded wayfinding system will simplify daily navigation for those moving between the east and west campus sections.
The takeaway
Large-scale campus renovations can successfully integrate modern aesthetic wayfinding to solve historical navigation challenges. Institutions facing similar aging infrastructure should consider phase-based construction to maintain operations while improving building envelopes.
Further reading
For more information on regional academic infrastructure projects, visit the Higher Education section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Architect’s Newspaper.
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