Challenge

For over two hundred years, Columbus, Indiana, has worked to create a community that addresses the concerns of all its citizens. The focus on design and the built environment started with schools, so when ABC Stewart Montessori School outgrew their building, they knew they wanted to do something to continue this legacy.

Process

The school founders and directors engaged the local J. Irwin Miller Architecture program to help them envision a new school building. Lena guided teams to ensure that all stakeholders were engaged throughout the design process and that the new building and its programming served the students, parents, teachers, and administrators. She led and facilitated the research and ideation phases of the process, which included initial discovery and site visits, and 4 co-creation sessions with students to better understand their hopes and dreams for the new school. Later, she brought the school’s administration, the founder, teachers, parents, board members, and local builders together for a 2-hour ideation workshop to understand their needs and hopes for the future ABC Stewart.

Impact

The research and ideation fed directly into the design schemas that were shared with the school administration in a final design presentation. In addition, the master students and local stakeholders were involved throughout the process, thereby exposing them to methodologies and approaches to co-create through design, not just for design. The outputs from this initiative have helped the school leaders with their fundraising efforts and are influencing final design decisions with the goal of fostering an environment for learning and play for many years to come.