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Ace Academy

TYPE:               School
LOCATION:      Austin, TX
CLIENT:            University of Texas at Austin
TEAM:              Michael Chaveriat + Phil Sima
The Ace Academy is a school for gifted children in Austin, TX. Class levels are based on comprehension, not age, and students are encouraged to collaborate and learn from each other.  This progressive approach demands a new way of thinking about spaces for learning.

The school sits on a sloping city block at the border of the Judges Hill neighborhood and downtown Austin. This is a area of the city where dense residential neighborhoods transition to a more urban scale. The design addresses these conditions by providing an urban-scaled buffer on the south edge of the site while the north-west corner of the school grows out of the adjacent park and wraps the site, embracing a central courtyard space.

In addition to providing a focused and contained learning environment, the school attempts to engage the surrounding city, neighborhood, and site. The landscape is pulled up at the street level to reveal a public cafe and auditorium space, where the community may interface with the school and vice versa.

With flexible teaching spaces, learning can happen anywhere (be it the library stairs, a common space, or outside on the roof garden) and students are engaged even outside of the classroom. 

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PROJECTS

44 BROADWAY
Dry Dock 2
10 EVERETT
KIDS LAB
38 EXCHANGE
DAYCARE
9090 Parc
Ace Academy
50 Jean Talon Ouest
Shenzhen
Marionette
Redford Gardens
Plage
TOGS
Rotch
Wind Dance
Ligne Blanche
Pacman Chair
Art Sous Terrain
Desjardins
Moakley Park