The role of the designer is to immerse themselves in the world of the user groups they design for while keeping an eye on the bigger picture, pulling in knowledge and inspiration from a variety of sources. How we live, work, and learn is constantly changing, and so too must the practice of how we design for the built environment. With this desire to understand user groups as well as address fluctuating needs and circumstances, our approach to design must be responsive and facilitate the...

Celebrating a sustainability milestone inspired by generations of forward-thinking students. Originally constructed in 1922, Romney Hall is one of the most noteworthy buildings on Montana State University’s (MSU) campus in Bozeman. Prominently located along Grant Street and adjacent to the open greenspace of the Romney Oval, this iconic building contributes significant value to the MSU Historic District, and is listed on the National Register of Historic...

The past year has been a period of reactionary change for schools, with the pandemic requiring a pivot to remote learning, hybrid options, and careful re-openings. With the opportunity to be proactive, incorporate lessons learned, and effectively invest COVID-19 relief funding, school districts are planning upgrades to their facilities that improve health, safety, and learning for the long term. This challenge found our team looking at the issue of indoor air quality (IAQ) from multipl...

What you need to know to improve IAQ as kids transition back into the classroom. The work to assess and improve indoor air quality (IAQ) is a top priority for school districts as they look to best utilize billions in COVID-19 relief funds and prepare for post-pandemic, in-person learning. With this much-needed funding becoming available, there’s an incredible opportunity to combine lessons learned from the past year with an amplified commitment to designing healthy school...

For an AIA Austin design competition held earlier this summer, I joined a few team members to take on the topic of what learning environments might look like in a post-pandemic world. How could the design of these spaces support in-person education and help address the need for reduced class sizes, social distancing, and enhanced cleanliness, as well as ensure the health, safety, and well-being of students and teachers? This was an exploratory exercise to encourage out-of-the-box thinki...

How and when we go back to the physical school environment is understandably a hot topic. It not only involves the health and safety of our children, but also their ability to learn what they need to be successful adults. The longer the disruption and uncertainty, the tougher it will be to get back to normal — a "normal" that will inevitably look very different from what we're used to. School districts are currently considering all sorts of scenarios and of those, there will still need ...

The need for a skilled workforce in high-demand fields and the ever-increasing cost of a university degree have not only led to a shift in the predominant education models, but also a shift in how we design learning environments. One of the newer models — career and technical education (CTE) — is a hybrid version of vocational education, melding both academics and hands-on training. It targets students earlier in their learning journey and covers a broad range of industry sectors (see s...

The Rose Park Pool for the City of Billings was designed for comfort, safety, accessibility, and functionality, as well as to express the client and community’s values about the park, neighborhood, and resource resiliency. Read the story behind the design. ...

One of three new schools in Helena, Montana, Bryant Elementary School replaces its 80-year-old predecessor, which suffered from aging infrastructure and overcrowding. The new two-story building is three times the size of the original and features an elevated sky bridge, …...

When designing an alternative high school, it’s natural to do things a little different. For the new Willard Alternative High School, part of Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) in Montana, the team worked to create a fun, funky, colorful, and spacious environment that would be comfortable and welcoming to students transitioning to a “new home.” Most importantly, it needed to house the spaces, resources, and technology that would help propel students into fulfilling futures. Working c...

When developing concepts for the new 1,500-student Gallatin High School in Bozeman, Montana, our design team and the building committee gravitated toward a layout inspired by a town center. A place where people come together for a variety of purposes, …...

Jim Beal and Corey Johnson (principals and co-leaders of CTA's Education studio), along with architect Alex Bingham and interior designer Sandi Rudy, are designing Austin, Texas's new Waterloo School. The private high school has core values of Belonging, Mentorship, Restoration, Complexity, Flourishing, Growth, and Generosity; and will focus on incorporating the city of Austin as a classroom. Recently, the team presented a design charrette and used an Oculus immersive VR experience to a...