iTech is home to Vancouver Public School’s early college “school of choice,” STEM-focused program. The 80,711 SF facility serves up to 700 students in grades 6 through 12, and is conveniently located at the east entrance of Washington State University-Vancouver.

Vancouver iTech Preparatory is home to the early college STEM-focused program. The school initially operated from two sites in Vancouver, serving the middle and high-school students in separate locations. In February of 2017, a bond was passed by taxpayers that included plans to consolidate both the middle and high schools of iTech into a new building on the Washington State University-Vancouver campus. 

To successfully merge the program at a single location, the team at LSW facilitated a highly impactful symposium with staff, students, and representatives during the pre-design phase. This process included meetings, brainstorming sessions, and interactive workshops, with the goal of creating consensus and unity around a vision for the school and the community. This shared vision for the school became a blueprint for the project. 

The iTech curriculum focuses on project-based learning, weaving multiple subjects together and requiring students to think about a problem from multiple angles. This progressive approach is reflected throughout the design and in the building’s story. Each of the spaces and classrooms is connected through a grand, central area for presentations and events, showcasing students’ work, and organically supporting peer-to-peer collaboration. This goes to the root of iTech’s central theme, “process on display.” 

Much of the project work at iTech is done in an open setting, showcasing processes in real-time with no barriers to visibility. The facility is designed to encourage collaboration among students and teachers across grade levels and disciplines, creating an environment that lends itself to open dialog. The building’s design further accentuates this open mode of operation by centering the labs, collaboration spaces, and workshops around the gathering and presentation staircase.

Part of iTech’s innovative learning environment is the natural integration of elements that promote wellness, movement, and mental health. One of the school’s signature features is the “Turfnasium,” a reimagined turf gymnasium that brings the outdoors in. The infusion of outdoor play space emphasizes the connection between mental and physical health. True to the school’s encouragement of “outside the box” thinking, the Turfnasium offers a unique, fun location to play and exercise.

The building takes its shape and aesthetic from the surrounding topography and foliage, harmonizing its interior elements with the natural elements outside. This includes orienting it to maximize natural daylighting levels and views of the building’s natural surroundings, both of which have proven neurological benefits to students in learning environments.

The design for iTech meets the requirements for the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP). In addition, it was important to staff and students to expand on these features in ways that enhance the user experience. Below are a few examples that capture the school’s commitment to a sustainable program, as filtered through LSW’s own sustainability lens:

Operational Energy 

Embodied Carbon 

Human Health

Resource Conservation 

To read more about sustainability at LSW, download our Sustainability Action Plan here.