Highland Park Students Reimagine a Streamline Moderne for Dallas CASA’s Parade of Playhouses

By Mindy Baxter
Special Contributor

For students in Highland Park High School’s environmental architecture class, work meets play for their entry into the 2025 Parade of Playhouses.

Parade of Playhouses, the signature awareness event for Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), features custom-designed and built children’s playhouses on display at NorthPark Center and available to win by raffle. Funds raised support the children served by Dallas CASA.

Local architects, builders, organizations and individuals design, build and donate playhouses for the event, which runs from June 13 to 29 this year at NorthPark Center. Highland Park’s environmental architecture class is building their fourth house this year.

The HPHS playhouse is inspired by 4401 Beverly Drive, a rare example of the Streamline Moderne style, a design that emerged in the 1930s and bridged the gap between Art Deco and Midcentury Modern. The design took inspiration from the industrial and transportation systems of the day and emphasized curves, long horizontal lines, and aerodynamic forms. The house on Beverly Drive, built in 1937, is on Preservation Park Cities’ list of the top 100 architecturally significant homes in the Park Cities.

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The students studied the house and then created their own design, honoring the original home’s curved wall, long lines and Art Deco simplicity. They added a Dutch door and made their playhouse into a café and market to make it appealing to children.

For some students, designing the house was the highlight of the class. The class was split into groups of two, and each group designed a house. A panel of architects, preservationists, and the contractor chose the winning design, which was created by students Lynsie Leake and Juliana Maambo, both 17.

Lynsie came to the class with a love of drawing and found her niche in design. “Seeing all the hard work come together has been so great,” she said.

For Juliana, learning the computer-aided design program SketchUp was challenging. She thinks children will like the marketplace aspect of the house design.

“My favorite element is the Dutch door,” she said. “That’s something I would have loved when I was little.”

For others, Dallas CASA’s mission spoke to them. “Building the house and seeing it come together has really made Dallas CASA’s mission personal and real for me,” said Jaden Taylor, 18.

Student Gavin Bryant, 17, has a younger brother adopted from foster care and knows the importance of having forever families for children.

For student Rohan Portteus, 17, who grew up driving by the original home often, his favorite part of the process has been learning about the home’s history. Between that and learning the design process for the playhouse, Rohan is now thinking of architecture or design as a career.

Partner and builder Espedal Design + Construct, a homebuilder and remodeler in Preston Hollow and the Park Cities, builds the house onsite at Highland Park High School, with students assisting in the construction phase. David Espedal was approached by the school last year to build the house. He agreed to do it again after having a great experience.

Espedal, based in Ennis, walks them through ensuring the playhouse meets size and weight restrictions set by NorthPark Center and making sure materials used are waterproof. This year, students have trimmed out windows, measured out and nailed on wooden décor, and laid the entire floor themselves, with Espedal’s guidance.

“The kids came up with a great, great plan,” Espedal said. “I think back to when I was in high school, and there wasn’t a lot of information about the career I am in. It’s fun for me showing them how to bring a project like this to life.”

Parade of Playhouses is seen annually by more than one million visitors at NorthPark Center. For Dallas CASA, the event is a chance to raise awareness of issues related to child abuse and neglect, foster care, and encourage people in the community to become Dallas CASA volunteer child advocates. Dallas CASA volunteers make an immediate and critical impact on a child’s life. To learn more about becoming a volunteer advocate and to register for a volunteer information session, visit dallascasa.org.