Florida Architects

THE CLARK ADVANCED LEARNING CENTER
STUART, FLORIDA

Scope:

The Clark Advanced Learning Center is a 32,600 SF, joint-use facility between Martin County School District and Indian River State College. The ALC provides technology based academic programs with career-oriented “real world” experiences for more than 200 high school students. All program elements relate to the concept: A School for the Digital Age — a collaborative hands-on, project-based, learning approach employed with the support of a technology rich environment and a strong partnership with area businesses.

The Center is equipped with wireless technology throughout, and with the generous donation of the building’s sponsor, each student is supplied a laptop with connectivity anywhere in the building.

The design is based on a teenager’s favorite hangout…The Mall. Spaces encountered as they follow the esplanade include The Glass Box, where the Center’s computer network mainframe is housed and is entirely visible; The Career Café, where students can use their laptops or work with a full-time counselor in researching higher education or employment opportunities or to simply have lunch; The Conversation Basin, where they can gather in small groups to strategize and collaborate on projects, have lunch or view the campus water feature; the Classrooms and Labs that are designed with storefront glass and doors, interactive white boards, and the latest technological tools; and The “Knowledge Room”, which is located in the center of the building. This room is where the culmination of the skills learned is put into practice and presented. Students come together as large or small groups with access to video conferencing, plasma screens and a multitude of other tools. The “Knowledge Room” provides visual and physical connectivity between student, faculty, advisory members and the world-at-large.

Exterior

Interior