Notre Dame Preparatory School Innovation Wing

Educational

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Notre Dame Preparatory School, a Catholic independent preparatory school for girls, demonstrates its commitment to quality educational spaces with the development of an intricate Master Plan and design of the ‘Innovation Wing’ to create important departmental proximities within the STEAM and Humanities programs, as well as to accentuate the prominence of these programs in the school’s curriculum.

The 23,000-sf connection of two existing wings creates a new courtyard and provides spaces for art, science, design, and engineering classrooms to support an integrated educational model. The Innovation Wing is designed to support development of 21st-Century skills such as critical thinking, creative problem solving, collaboration, and communication. A central two-story Design and Build laboratory integrates fabrication equipment for student to engage in real-time design processes, experience product development, and utilized computer-aided design tools. The medical suite supports applied learning for biology, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology courses. The upper level houses art and design classrooms, studios, workspace, and a digital media lab. Classroom and lab spaces are enriched with technology and flexible furniture to support active, hands-on learning.

Throughout the building open areas nurture collaboration and offer spaces for small group and student-teacher collaboration. The new wing assists in facilitating continuous circulation through the school, strengthening the experience for all levels. The enclosed courtyard provides an outdoor classroom where students can safely gather, and the school can host events.

Facts

Design Team: Steve Ziger; Jonathan Lessem; Kyle Mastalinski; Keith Peiffer; Dan Carter; Katie Zaeh; Will Rohde; Katherine LePage

Owner: Notre Dame Preparatory School (NDP)

Location: Towson, MD

Completion: 12/2019

Program: art classrooms, digital media lab, cyber security lab, large gathering space, fabrication lab, medical suite, humanities classrooms, science and engineering labs, computer science lab

Photography: Karl Connolly