In Marana, just north of Tucson, Arizona’s first K-8 CSTEM (computer science, technology, engineering and math) school is a learning tool in itself. Completed in July 2019, the two-story building reveals its structure and interior systems at hub locations, teaching kids how the school functions. With color, texture and daylight among the key design themes, the collaborative learning environment includes science rooms and makerspaces—creative environments where students are encouraged to design, experiment, build and invent. Each classroom has glass partition walls that open to the hallways for interactive group learning, and all classrooms can directly access the outdoor learning areas.

As a participant in the Architecture 2030 Challenge goal of creating carbon-neutral buildings, the school placed solar arrays on the parking canopies that will generate 90% of the building’s energy requirements.

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