News | May 3rd 2017

Boundless Design Supports Limitless Learning at the Fessenden School

The Fessenden School, an independent boys’ boarding and day school, is in their inaugural year with the new Ciongoli Center for Innovation ― or “iLab”. The iLab is a flexible and imaginative environment comprised of 2,400 square feet at the physical and ideological heart of campus, and is Fessenden's second innovative learning space on campus (the first was a small, temporary classroom).

As schools increasingly realize the importance of offering spaces that materially and aesthetically support essential learning outcomes, project-based learning (PBL) continues to evolve as an effective mechanism for 21st Century early childhood development.

These future innovators are exposed to hands-on problem solving through a great range of tools, machines, technology, possibilities, and pedagogical encouragement. The Ciongoli Center benefits all grades and is a flexibly furnished, open-studio environment for all types of curriculum and creative thinking projects. 

Headmaster Dave Stettler says that “The Ciongoli Center is spacious, flexible, and architecturally striking — and truly makes the possibilities for student learning limitless. It also enables them to contribute positively to — and adapt along with — the quickly evolving world in which they live.”

The the project has lent The Fessenden School a new perspective on the value of discovery through technology, even at the earliest levels. The iLab went from being a curiosity to a classroom to a museum to a prototype and model for peer institutions – not to mention an invaluable educational asset for Fessenden. See here to learn more about this project.