Following an extensive study and programming exercise with Q+, the school district and faculty at this existing vocational training center determined priorities for additions to the school that would expand existing programs unable to accommodate student demand in their current spaces. 

Culinary Arts, one of the center’s most popular programs, is housed in a new addition at the front corner of the school, offering an opportunity to highlight the program in a prominent location on site. The showpiece of the addition is a daylight-filled Culinary Arts lab designed around three large stainless steel cooking suites that integrate counter space, storage, and cooking equipment. Careful consideration was given to the configuration of equipment and ventilation hoods to create an efficient layout that does not sacrifice volume and visibility through the space. A generous expanse of glass tracks across the lab and opens up at the corner nearest the main entrance to the parking lot, offering views of student activity within and animating the school’s street front presence. 

A second addition at the rear of the school provides classroom and lab space for life skills style curriculum. Three flexible classrooms accommodate small group activities as well as hands-on instruction on daily living skills. Each classroom features a large window that provides daylight and views of the heavily treed landscape that surrounds the school. A shared residential style kitchen space is used for cooking instruction and demonstrations.