Almost There!
As we get closer to opening the Upper Campus, we wanted to offer a more detailed look at some of the specialized spaces and equipment students will have available to them. Lower Campus Students will have access to all these same spaces, ranging from science labs to rain day breaks in the gym. And of course, it's a great new space for our community events to happen!
One of the principles behind the campus design has been that specialized facilities shouldn't be reserved for an occasional class. We want students to have regular opportunities to use these spaces as part of coursework, independent study, and longer-term projects—and to be able to move between spaces as their work develops.
SCIENCE LABORATORY
The Upper Campus has a dedicated science laboratory designed to support biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and student research.
Students will have access to laboratory workstations and equipment for microscopy, experimentation, measurement, sample preparation, data collection, and quantitative analysis.
Keeping this space separate from our technology lab allows it to function as a true experimental laboratory rather than a general-purpose classroom. It also gives students the ability to undertake longer-term investigations and independent research projects in addition to their regular laboratory work.
TECHNOLOGY LAB & MAKERSPACE
Our technology lab is being developed as a fabrication and engineering space where students can move from an idea to a digital design to a physical object.
Students will have access to CAD and 3D-design tools, multiple 3D printers, electronics and circuitry equipment, soldering equipment, robotics and engineering materials, hand and power tools, and a wide range of fabrication supplies.
At the center of the lab's fabrication capability will be a Shapeoko 5 Pro 4' × 4' CNC router, supported by dedicated external ventilation.
The size of the CNC means students aren't limited to making small desktop models. They can fabricate larger prototypes, furniture components, architectural models, signs, installations, molds, jigs, and other full-scale pieces.
A project might begin with a sketch, become a CAD model, move to a small 3D-printed prototype, undergo several rounds of testing and revision, and eventually be fabricated at full scale.
ART STUDIO
Our dedicated art studio is being equipped to support drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, mixed media, and other forms of visual art.
Students will have access to a full range of studio materials and supplies along with pottery wheels, a printing press, and a custom kiln.
A ceramics student, for example, can experience the entire process from developing an idea and learning to throw on the wheel to experimenting with form, glazing, firing work in the kiln, evaluating the finished piece, and refining technique over time.
The printing press opens another set of possibilities in traditional printmaking, illustration, typography, graphic design, and the creation of original editions.
The relationship between the art studio and makerspace is also intentional. Students can move between traditional artistic processes and digital fabrication—designing a custom ceramic tool or mold on a computer, 3D printing it in the makerspace, and then using it to create work in the art studio, for example.
GYM / "Human Performance Lab"
Our gym will combine strength and conditioning with a Human Performance Lab and an extensive climbing and movement facility.
Students will have access to professional-quality strength-training equipment, including multiple strength stations, Olympic barbells and bumper plates, adjustable benches, trap bars, technique bars, dumbbells and kettlebells, functional training equipment, conditioning tools, and equipment for mobility and recovery.
In addition to professional-quality strength and conditioning equipment, students will have access to an extensive climbing wall with overhang structures and auto-belays, a large freestanding boulder, and parkour training equipment.
These facilities support traditional physical education and training while also allowing students to explore biomechanics, exercise physiology, movement, climbing, bouldering, parkour, mobility, recovery, and athletic performance.
TEACHING KITCHEN
Our teaching kitchen gives students another kind of hands-on laboratory.
Students can use it to explore culinary technique, nutrition, food science, culture, and entrepreneurship. A science student might investigate fermentation or the chemistry of baking, while another student might develop a food product, test and refine recipes, calculate production costs, determine pricing, and develop packaging and a business plan.
LIBRARY & RESEARCH SPACE
The library will serve as a home for reading, writing, research, discussion, and independent scholarly work. It will also be an important starting point for many projects that eventually move elsewhere in the building. Students will have access to group work spaces, private study carrels, research stations, and a starting catalog of more than 1,500 texts.
Students might begin with books, primary sources, scholarly articles, historical documents, or data in the library and then take that research into the science lab, art studio, makerspace, kitchen, or Human Performance Lab.
PRESENTATION & EXHIBITION SPACES
Our cafeteria and common areas have been designed to serve multiple purposes.
Beyond their everyday uses, these spaces can become locations for exhibitions, research presentations, debates, demonstrations, student showcases, visiting speakers, and community events.
We want students to have opportunities to share finished work with an authentic audience rather than having every project end when something is turned in to a teacher.
WHAT COULD A PROJECT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?
One of the reasons we have invested in such different spaces is that a student's work doesn't have to belong to only one of them. Here are just a couple examples of how a student might utilize the new campus in their work.
1. The Potomac Watershed
A student begins in the library, researching the ecology of the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay watershed and developing a question about water quality.
After collecting samples in the field, the student uses the science lab to test and compare them and then analyzes the resulting data.
In the technology lab, the student uses CAD to create a topographic model of the watershed. Components might be 3D printed while the larger landscape is fabricated using the CNC router.
The project then moves into the art studio, where printmaking, ceramics, painting, or mixed media can transform the scientific model and data into an understandable visual exhibition.
The final result combines environmental science, statistics, research, digital fabrication, and visual communication.
2. Can We Design a Better Climbing Hold?
A student begins at the climbing wall, noticing that different hold shapes require dramatically different movements and types of grip strength.
That observation becomes a research question.
In the Human Performance Lab, the student compares grip positions, movement patterns, fatigue, and performance on different types of holds.
In the technology lab, existing holds can be measured and modeled in CAD. The student designs new shapes, creates prototypes, tests them, gathers feedback, and revises the designs.
The art studio adds another dimension as the student considers form, texture, surface, and sculptural design alongside the engineering requirements.
The final project could be a collection of original climbing-hold prototypes accompanied by testing data and an explanation of the biomechanics and design decisions behind them.
3. From Clay to Product
A student interested in ceramics begins in the art studio, learning to throw on the pottery wheel and experimenting with forms, clay, glazing, and firing in our kiln.
Eventually, the student decides to develop a coordinated set of functional pieces.
The student can use the technology lab to create digital templates, prototypes, custom tools, stamps, or molds. The CNC router and 3D printers can produce components that would be difficult to make accurately by hand.
The teaching kitchen becomes a testing ground. Do the bowls actually work for the foods they're intended to hold? Is the mug comfortable? Does the serving piece function as expected?
The project could eventually expand into entrepreneurship, with the student considering production costs, branding, packaging, pricing, and how to present and sell a small collection of finished work.
4. Creating a Public Art Installation
A student or small group begins with an idea they want to communicate visually.
They develop sketches and material studies in the art studio, experimenting with painting, ceramics, sculpture, and printmaking.
As the scale increases, they move into the technology lab to model the installation digitally, calculate dimensions, CNC-cut structural elements, and 3D print specialized components.
If the work incorporates light, movement, sensors, or electronics, those elements can also be prototyped in the makerspace.
Students then return to the art studio for finishing and assembly before installing the work somewhere on campus.
The process can move naturally among fine art, engineering, mathematics, fabrication, and technology while still beginning and ending as an artistic endeavor.
THE BIGGER IDEA
These examples aren't intended to prescribe what students will make. In fact, we expect many of the best projects to be things we haven't anticipated.
And not everything needs to be interdisciplinary. Sometimes a student should simply spend an afternoon learning to throw a pot, conduct an experiment, build something, climb, cook, paint, or disappear into a book.
But when an idea grows beyond the boundaries of one subject, we want students to have somewhere to take it. The spaces provide the tools. What students decide to do with them is the part we are most excited to see.
Thank you all for being on this journey to bring something truly unique to Old Town! The Linder community's support, patience, and joy are unmatched.