Challenge

Peekskill City School District envisioned a STEAM program that would inspire curiosity, encourage collaboration, and showcase student achievement. However, the program was housed in outdated classrooms tucked away on the lower level of the high school, where limited daylight, small windows, and an awkward floor plan made the spaces feel isolated and disconnected. The district sought to transform these underutilized classrooms into a vibrant learning environment that would bring together art, science, technology, engineering, and robotics while raising the visibility of STEAM throughout the school and the broader community.

Results

The new 11,500-square-foot STEAM Innovation Center transforms previously overlooked space into one of the most dynamic destinations in the school. Rather than fighting the building’s unusual wedge-shaped footprint, the design embraces it by organizing classrooms around a flexible central “Mixer”—a collaborative hub where students gather, exhibit their work, and share ideas across disciplines. Enlarged windows, interior glazing, and glass doors flood the center with daylight while making learning visible from surrounding spaces, generating excitement for the program and inviting curiosity. Flexible furnishings, write-on walls, breakout rooms, and dedicated robotics and fabrication spaces support project-based learning and allow students to move seamlessly between designing, building, testing, and presenting their ideas. The Innovation Center has become a catalyst for interdisciplinary learning, community engagement, and student pride, hosting public events, welcoming local organizations, and providing students with an inspiring environment that reflects the district’s commitment to innovation and opportunity.

Challenge

As Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School approached its second century, district leaders recognized that traditional classrooms could no longer support the collaborative, hands-on learning experiences needed to prepare students for college, careers, and an evolving workforce. The district sought to create an environment where science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics could intersect, giving students opportunities to design, build, test, and present ideas using the same tools and processes found in today’s industries. At the same time, the project needed to modernize the library into a more flexible resource that encouraged collaboration rather than simply housing books.

Results

The new 28,100-square-foot STEAM addition transforms learning through flexible, maker-centered spaces that encourage creativity, problem-solving, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Organized around a shared technology classroom and breakout space, specialized laboratories for robotics, materials processing, CNC fabrication, engineering, and digital arts allow students to move seamlessly from concept to prototype. Flexible classrooms support computer science, mathematics, and career and technical education while encouraging project-based learning across disciplines.

The project also reimagined the library as a vibrant Learning Commons where students gather to research, collaborate, study, and develop projects in adaptable spaces. Together, these environments reflect the district’s vision for 21st-century education—providing students with authentic learning experiences, exposure to advanced technologies, and the skills needed to succeed in higher education and an increasingly innovative workforce.