We teamed up with our friends at Paragon Architecture for this project. Dawson-Spencer Hall at Crowder College was a unique project – an instructional building funded by a FEMA grant, so it could be used as an oversized storm shelter. As we’re sure you can imagine, in order to be tornado-proof, there couldn’t be any windows. We used a lot of borrowed light and their school colors to brighten up the spaces and make the building feel inviting.

 

The furniture groupings and open spaces encourage group discussions and collaboration. For students needing to concentrate and work on their own, there are long study tables inset in niches that allow multiple students to work independently, while keeping space efficiencies in mind.