Montclair Kimberly Academy

The Inquiry and Innovation Center will help prepare students for an unknown future by focusing on problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and logic. The facility is the cornerstone of MKA’s STEM+ initiative, and will contain laboratories, classrooms, a dedicated robotics area and student workspaces to serve the Upper School campus.

The center provides 16,100-sf of renovated space and a 10,000-sf addition. Within that space are biology, environmental, chemistry and physics labs, along with an honors research lab, robotics/maker space, health, and prep and support spaces. Additional spaces include math classrooms, a conference room, greenhouse, study hall, student lounges and faculty offices.

Flexibility and adaptability were paramount to the success of the lab design. The school purchased a mobile fume hood to be moved between labs as needed by being plugged into docking sites throughout the building. Mobile casework and demo stations, as well as cabinets with adjustable shelving, allow the laboratories to be reconfigured to adjust to pedagogical needs.

The building is designed to ignite student inquiry and innovation through collaborative, multidisciplinary spaces. The center includes expanded laboratories and space for longer-term experiments, with the goal for students to think big and try something new. At the completion of design, MKA engaged the design team to renovate their existing middle school teaching laboratories and prep areas.

Rendering courtesy of Voith & Mactavish Architects