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Features:

Four Learning Studios (by grade level)
Special Education and servery integrated into learning studios
Performance Gym with Seating for 1,800
Two Locker Rooms, AD Office and Trainer room
Wrestling Room
Commons Area for fitness, dining, events, etc.
Media Center / Information Commons / Library 
Middle School Administration
500 student capacity

The Charles City Community School District set their sights on becoming a “pioneering school district”. The school district set out to develop a new school and the learning environments of the future.

The district visited exemplar schools to understand how to meet the needs of teaching and learning. By utilizing design thinking, architects worked with “teachers as designers” to develop multiple concepts. The strongest ideas were explored by building full scale mock-ups of the different learning environments. Ideas from students, teachers and staff were incorporated into the final design.

The new middle school (grades 5-8) features an 86,250 s.f. addition to connect to the existing high school building.

Think BIG

During the design process, BLDD transformed an empty warehouse and worked with district students, faculty and staff to create rapid prototypes of new learning environments to test with actual classes.

A chance to test drive designs.

The "Think BIG" design thinking process maximizes input from the students, faculty, staff, and local business leaders and gives students and faculty an opportunity to experience new educational environments by prototyping spaces before they were incorporated into a completed project.

Learning Environments of the Future

The "Classroom of the Future" mockup was displayed at the 70th annual Iowa Association of School Boards 2015 Convention. Students from the Charles City School District were on hand to test out the flexible learning environments.

Details that make a difference.

Using design thinking, architects worked with "teachers as designers" to create multiple concepts.
The strongest ideas were explored by making full scale mock-ups, from which teachers could hold real classes with students before the designs were adopted into the new structure.