IFA transformed this 24,000 square-foot former department store into a charter school that focuses on teaching through hands-on experience. Tasked with mirroring their philosophy of “teaching through hands-on experience”, our design made the building itself a learning tool. IFA exposed structural elements such as beams and rafters, and created partitions of celled panels to conceptualize the idea of transparency in education (while allowing for students to concentrate on individual pursuits). A light well and clerestory windows were added to flood the three-story interior with daylight. This is the first of several phases.