Thinking Inside the Box – Transforming Existing Spaces for New Uses
2026-10-28 14:30 - 15:30 UTC
Space for much-needed educational programming can appear in unexpected places, often in the over-looked buildings all around us. Affordably priced, this real estate presents opportunities for creatively thinking inside the box while reducing total carbon consumption. Comparing four case studies:

an abandoned drugstore retrofitted to become a much-needed urban day care facility,
a mega call center transformed into an innovative public preschool,
a hardware store reincarnated as a career training center, and
a nondescript department store turned church reshaped into an award-winning preschool—demonstrates the potential for not only supportive, safe spaces but also delightful environments for education in these ordinary existing structures.

Successful transformations depend on a number of techniques to complete a makeover from cheerless utilitarianism or banal commercialism to joyful space for even the youngest users. Improvements can also be quantifiable in tons of carbon, allowing designers to assess the efficacy of building reuse. Together, these projects make a strong case for using existing building stock to “think inside the box.”
