The new Katherine Johnson Technology Magnet Academy (KJTMA) was designed with an emphasis on technology, STEM, and outdoor learning. The school provides learning opportunities focused on robotics, coding, science, digital art, and music for 900 kindergarten through fifth grade students each year.
The two-story, 109,500-sf facility includes a media center that is surrounded by a variety of secure outdoor learning areas. The two-story media center anchors the building and was designed to blur the lines between indoor and outdoor space through the utilization of daylight, views, thermal comfort, and materials.
Courtesy KJTMA
Grade-level rows of classrooms surround the building’s core. Flexible collaboration zones with operable acoustic glass partitions link the classroom corridors with the media center and outdoor environments.
See Also: Chapman University opens new science and engineering center
A binary code pattern was applied to the exterior building fenestration meant to mimic robotics and coding principles and provide an interior corridor experience that facilitates student visibility and interaction. The building’s interior features a space travel theme that connects content to the programmatic offerings in the adjacent spaces. For example, lessons about gravity are located near the gym, while a moon buggy is displayed near robotics. Dynamic QR codes embedded in the wall graphics enable students to access supplementary information through their school-issued iPads. Teachers can alter the content tied to the codes at any time to accommodate age ranges and subject matter.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jan 19, 2018
A 360-degree classroom highlights Washington State University’s new academic innovation hub
The circle-in-the-round classroom can accommodate 275 students.
University Buildings | Jan 18, 2018
New living/learning facility at the University of Illinois at Chicago breaks ground
Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) designed the facility.
Education Facilities | Jan 9, 2018
Elementary school, daycare campus will serve Toronto's skyrise neighborhood
While the district’s vertical living lifestyle is geared for young singles and empty nesters, CityPlace has attracted a surprising number of families.
Education Facilities | Jan 8, 2018
Three former school buildings are repurposed to create mini-campus for teacher education
The $25.3 million project is currently under construction on the Winona State University campus.
Healthcare Facilities | Jan 6, 2018
A new precision dental center embodies Columbia University’s latest direction for oral medicine education
The facility, which nests at “the core” of the university’s Medical Center, relies heavily on technology and big data.
Education Facilities | Jan 2, 2018
New Bancroft Campus responds to the challenges of autism through design
The 80-acre campus is located in Mount Laurel, N.J.
K-12 Schools | Nov 16, 2017
Future-proofing higher education: Understanding generation Z
There are three driving issues behind this next generation: demographic change, behavioral change, and the power to choose.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 13, 2017
Harlem Renaissance: A vacant school provides much-needed housing and a clubhouse for children
Word that PS 186 might be demolished brought out the preservationists, whose letter-writing campaign gained the support of the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
Education Facilities | Oct 3, 2017
The growing demand for early childhood education
When the design of early learning centers is grounded in the science of developmental psychology and education, these educational environments can address multiple domains of development that positively stimulate young children's physical and cognitive growth.
Laboratories | Sep 12, 2017
New York City is positioning itself as a life sciences hub
A new Transwestern report highlights favorable market and regulatory changes.
