Verizon Innovative Learning Community Center

Overview:

The Verizon Innovative Learning (VIL) is an ongoing initiative that focuses on creating digital learning spaces for low-income communities that do not have access to technology, connectivity, and professional learning. Our job as designers was to understand the needs/ wants of each local community and create a modular STEM-focused classroom that can be integrated with existing public spaces.

With over 12 sites launching by 2025, our goal was to develop a spatial design center on digital inclusion and ultimately provide access and opportunities to communities in need, so that they are prepared and prosper in the ever-changing digital age.

Project Role: Senior Experiential Designer

Creative Members: Andreas Karales (Creative Director), Richard Edwards (Senior Creative Director), Stephen Bayshore (Senior Graphic Designer), Jennifer Tate (Design Manager)

Company: Verizon

Time: Ongoing

Tools: Sketchup, Keyshot, Handsketching, Solidworks, AutoCAD, Lumion

Advancing STEM education in communities

One of the primary design gestures is to respond to the variety of programmatic needs and their associated space types by merging them in a sense, creating a hybrid type space which blurs the boundaries of shared office, classroom, and lab. Examining the types of program, their requirements and relationships becomes crucial in producing a space that is both efficient and diverse.

co-working

classroom

lab

Cully Learning Center

It’s a system

How the programming desires breakdown into physical space needs

New Columbia Learning Center

Creating flexibility & scalability

All community spaces are designed with modularity in mind. Transforming classrooms into labs, group work, and presentation spaces.

Jade District Learning Center

Research & Data

Design Elements

Modular Construction