Dwight-Englewood Village & Middle School

The Dwight-Englewood Village & Middle School is a part of Gensler’s continuing work on the school’s master plan that seeks to bring the most innovative thinking on the future of education to the campus. The underlying premise of the academic building is to establish a distinct identity for each grade level, from the bottom to the top of the building, connected by an open stair. Each level is organized around a front “porch” surrounded by classrooms that can open or close, enabling each floor to be reconfigured for project-based learning to create a unique and dynamic experience and support a variety of learning styles. The classrooms themselves are designed to be completely reconfigurable — instead of a teacher desk, there is a mobile podium that enables the educator to take up any position in the room as students become used to driving their own independent learning experience. A landscaped outdoor grove contains different ecosystems, pathways, and seating areas that enable students and teachers to use the outdoors as an extension of the classroom.