Young Audiences Charter School

STBA was selected by Young Audiences Charter Schools to transform neglected warehouses in Gretna, LA (formerly a Coca-Cola bottling facility) into a new campus for their expanding student population. STBA provided programming to identify the school’s current and future needs and developed spaces to accommodate the school’s performing and visual arts core curriculum. Originally nine buildings totaling 170,000 square feet, STBA joined the multiple interconnected buildings to create one cohesive campus. The design maximizes the use of the existing structure by employing multiple daylighting strategies to bring natural light into the new spaces. STBA assisted the client in navigating state bond funding and historic designation and tax credit processes. Phase 1 of the project was designed to accommodate 875 students in Grades 4 through 12 and includes classrooms, science labs, a gymnasium, and music and art rooms, along with a multi-purpose assembly space and black-box theater.