Creating something from nothing. Building and developing business ideas. Working together. These are the actions that define entrepreneurs. And at Leroy Greene Academy, middle and high school students can develop these skills in the center for innovation and super lab, part of a newly modernized wing on campus that smartly merges today’s start-up company vibe with project-based learning.

Natomas Unified School District wanted to modernize the science wing and adjacent library at Leroy Greene Academy to create an innovation hub that would promote an entrepreneurial spirit and reinforce their business-minded curriculum. Our design solutions take inspiration from present-day workplace designs with varying collaboration areas, an energizing color palette, flexible furniture, and technology infused throughout. Small, medium, and large collaboration spaces accommodate student teams working on group projects, with a glass enclosed “think tank” in the middle that feels more like a conference room than a study space. Virtually every surface is writable, whether it’s a glass or painted wall. And prolific entrepreneurs are featured throughout the space. In the adjacent science wing, we modernized all the science labs and designed a “super lab.” Empowering and encouraging students to build large-scale projects, the “super lab” is a mighty maker-space complete with tools and access to the outdoors via a roll-up garage door.