As part of a multi-facility “Indy Campus Reimagined” initiative, Ivy Tech Community College (ITCC) is undertaking the renovation of the Illinois Fall Creek Center (IFC) to enhance its Nursing and Health Sciences programs. This project will repurpose existing classroom space, consolidating health sciences programs from the Fairbanks Lawrence campus and integrating state-of-the-art lab upgrades to better support modern student learning.

A key goal of this renovation is to centralize all student services on campus, creating a more intuitive and cohesive experience for students and staff. By consolidating services in one location, the design features clear wayfinding and establishes a primary entrance that enhances the facility’s arrival experience.

By creating a state-of-the-art space for Nursing and Health Sciences, ITCC is strengthening their connection to the local healthcare industry. Students will benefit from upgraded learning environments and proximity to clinical placements, internships, and workforce opportunities in the downtown area.

To support an influx of K-8 students, Grandville Public Schools built a new 7/8 middle school which will allow them to repurpose the existing middle school into a 5/6 facility and open space in their neighborhood elementary buildings as part of a $94 million bond proposal.

The new $57 million 7/8 building is located adjacent to the current high school and addresses capacity issues at the district’s elementary buildings with the increase of new developments to the area. Treating this shared location as a campus allows room for future expansion and creates a combined location for community amenities.

The new, multi-story facility boasts more than 200,000 square feet of teaching and learning space that is flexible and student focused. A large learning staircase with adjacent technology creates a space for students to socialize, have small group meetings, and eat lunch. Corridors are spacious and act as extended, active learning areas with movable furniture and technology. Emphasis on creating external and internal transparency with safety glazing gives the facility ample natural light but maintains student focus and security with sight lines for adequate supervision. A large media center with presentation spaces and multiple soft seating options fosters a sense of collaboration and innovation. Breakout rooms and large group spaces create flexible learning opportunities in a non-traditional setting to boost creative thinking.

The Lake County campus of Ivy Tech Community College (ITCC) will be undergoing extensive renovations in East Chicago. ITCC has made a significant investment in the community and the educational programs it offers. The main building on campus, the De La Garza Building, was originally designed by architect Helmut Jahn and the upcoming renovations will remain true to the spirit of the initial design concepts, which emphasize open spaces, natural lighting, and ample glass.

A reconstruction of the entrance will create a predominate, accessible front entry space featuring an exterior canopy that will be visible from the street and will enhance the building user’s entry experience. The renovated two-story lobby will include flexible seating and gathering areas, an express enrollment area, and space for the college’s career development services. The large mezzanine on the second floor with a new open staircase invites views directly into the labs spaces and creates an impactful entrance experience with visibility and connectivity between students and activities on multiple levels. The graphics, furniture, and building materials will reflect both an industrial and technical aesthetic that will balance against a wooden accent wall to create a warm and welcoming lobby. The lobby renovation will extend down the long corridor on both floors. On the first floor several program entrance “front porches” off the main corridor are included in the design to increase visibility of the programs and break down the journey of the long corridor. 

Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) has offered classes on the Lakeshore, spread out in four locations, for more than 20 years. With programs in disparate locations and in small, leased available spaces in buildings through the area, serving students and maintaining fiscal responsibility was a challenge on top of restricted growth.

The college purchased the former JCPenney in The Shops at Westshore Mall in the heart of Holland Township to become a consolidated GRCC Lakeshore Campus, committed to serving Lakeshore learners of all ages. One consolidated campus creates synergy and collaboration across programs that are physically co-located, and provides opportunities for operational efficiencies and partnerships with Grand Valley State University’s Meijer campus as well as other area colleges. The 52,000 square-foot campus facility gives GRCC flexibility to grow into the much-larger space and establishes a strong presence, truly embedding the college – and education – in a community.

The Project NEXT program at Forest Hills Northern (FHN) High School is a project-based collaborative learning program that began as a pilot initiative in the media center in 2018. 

At the time, a modest investment was made in the pilot program by designing and refreshing the school’s media center with new, flexible furniture more conducive to next-generation, collaborative learning. In Project NEXT, students learn the state-required high school curricula in a series of both individual and group assignments throughout their four years at FHN. Students tackle real-world problems and fuse science, social studies, English, art and design, and math to produce innovative learning and projects.

Holly Area School’s new 6,500-square-foot Construction Trades Center will house the district’s skilled trades programs. This state-of-the-art facility will provide students with the opportunity to earn valuable certifications while still in high school, paving the way for rewarding careers that do not require a four-year college degree.

Previously housed inside the high school, the program will now move to the new, pre-engineered facility designed to accommodate a larger scale of training. The flexible space can adapt to the evolving needs of various trades, like carpentry, plumbing, electrical, or masonry construction. Students will have the chance to earn OSHA certifications, equipping them with essential safety knowledge for the workforce.

Ivy Tech Community College offers multiple Industrial Technology programs, including a large welding program. The welding program offered at Ivy Tech’s East Chicago location recently underwent a renovation to create an inspiring and innovative environment that appeals to new and existing students, reflecting the energy of the program and the future of the industry. 

The existing building contained a north/south corridor which the design team reinforced by referring to it as a “main street” with several program “front porches” that would increase visibility of those respective programs and clarify wayfinding along the corridor. The project team purposely contemplated how the welding program entrance, or “front porch,” and virtual welding classrooms would set the precedent for the future program entry spaces to really highlight the programs and give a space for students to collaborate. A large driver for the welding renovation was to show that welding is a 22nd century skill that can be a high-tech, desirable career for young people. The entrance to the welding center is an approachable, open space that faces the lobby of the academic building and offers a place for informal gathering. There are glass walls creating visibility into the expanded welding space, showcasing more than 40 welding booths. The adjacent virtual welding classroom contains bays of virtual reality (VR) welding trainers, equipped with TV monitors on the wall, that mirror the small virtual display unit so instructors, peers from the class, and other visitors can see the technology in use.

For more than 70 years, Unity Christian High School has expanded the mission of their school in fostering faith, increasing knowledge, and developing skills in students to serve God and others. Serving 700 students annually, the school is expected to steadily increase enrollment over the next few years. The high school was constructed on the 110-acre school campus with room to grow for future projects. The new expansion project was proposed to meet the growing demand for space, while still serving the school’s original master plan from 1999.

Sequence I of the high school expansion project will add new classrooms and an expanded Bible classroom to the south wing. The expanded north wing will provide additional space for STEM programs, such as industrial arts, welding, woodworking, CAD/engineering, and robotics. Four existing classrooms will also be renovated into an educational support suite for counseling and student wellness services. A new bridge connector will join the north and south wings of the school together and provide students with additional learning and gathering spaces. The connector encloses an exterior courtyard and creates a separate student area that fosters a feeling of community and inclusion. The connector will include an elevator for equal accessibility and efficiency for all students. This portion of the project began in spring 2023 and is expected to be completed in fall 2024.

With a high school building that felt outdated for 21st century learning, Greenville Public Schools had an opportunity to completely transform and upgrade their facility. By commissioning an aging building to improve energy efficiency, air quality, and building performance, the facility now has reduced maintenance, a longer lifespan, and spaces that are more comfortable learning environments for students.

Renovations in the high school include a complete transformation of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings to support new and evolving programming in robotics, construction trades, machining and tools, CAD, and mechatronics. Science labs and classrooms were expanded and spatially reconfigured to support a modern curriculum, and the team created extended, flexible learning opportunities outside of classrooms that encourage collaborative learning. In addition to finish and furniture upgrades throughout the building, new classroom technology and controls and upgrades to the auditorium further enhance the learning environment.

Calvin University has transformed its education system from a college to a university model, expanding its programs to students rooted in a Christian faith. Responding to growth in the health care field, it was important to the University to create a unified school for health-related programs and community leadership that embraces undergraduate students and adult learners seeking to continue their education in health care and health administration.

GMB, alongside Calvin, developed a master plan to better understand the physical space requirements needed to ensure high quality educational experiences for School of Health students, as well as possible funding required to implement the plan and attract students over the next five years.