The Northeast Career and Technical Academy is comprised of four program-specific buildings arranged to form a protected courtyard (Garden of Learning) with the Commons (Center of Knowledge) as the centerpiece of the campus. This arrangement provides opportunities to connect indoor teaching stations to outdoor learning spaces and extend the flexibility of the classrooms. To enhance visibility of the CTE programs, and overall collaboration with the general education programs, the CTE classrooms and labs are distributed throughout the three-story building, both horizontally and vertically.

To strengthen the opportunities for collaboration and for flexibility, motorized overhead roll-up doors are included in a variety of classrooms and labs, extending both the teaching space into the flexible collaboration zones which activate the widened circulation spaces and to the exterior (for spaces on the ground floor) to create opportunities for outdoor instructional space. Flexible, reconfigurable furniture will populate the indoor collaboration zones including mobile white boards, seating, and both standard & high-top tables.

A series of vertical masses throughout the classroom building help to visually link the academic programs within their vertical clusters, while serving as mechanical duct enclosures for the enhanced air filtration system. Large openings are located adjacent to the collaboration zones and are designed to allow daylight to access the core of the building from a clerestory that forms the roof/ceiling of the third floor. The clerestory integrates operable windows to support nighttime purges through stack ventilation, reinforcing the District’s desire to utilize natural ventilation for a healthier indoor environment.