Title: Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy
Location of Proejct: Atlanta, Georgia
Project Completion Date: 9/1/2019
Firm Name: Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, Inc

Short Description: The Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy [TAGA] draws from a rich and valued history that helps to construct a solid educational future based on critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and imagination. With less than a year in their new school before quarantine, Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy now looks at redefining how they engage with their resilient southwest Atlanta elementary school. Inspired by the bold legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, several of whom live in the community, Atlanta Public Schools sought to create a school that allowed its students to push beyond their own limitations while simultaneously growing, reflecting, and strengthening their resolve.

Architect's Statement: The new three-story structure—which replaces a 44-year-old facility that will be preserved for another use—will give the school greater street visibility and provide an enriched learning environment. Basing the design approach on the idea of flight, the material and form of the building nod to the school’s historic namesakes while maintaining scale and context on a very small site in an established residential neighborhood. The school’s STEAM-based curriculum provided a strong inspiration for spatial adjacencies that would allow students to move seamlessly through and between Science, Art, and Music classrooms and to an outdoor learning lab overlooking the playfield. The design team created unique spaces throughout the building that still fit within budget and programmatic constraints of Atlanta Public Schools facilities requirements, even studying how a scaled-down replica of a P-51 Mustang fighter plane could be hung in the main lobby (an idea that is still being considered by the school system).

Developing a place for community, and community pride, in conjunction with a high performing building were critical components in creating this new school. Following the completion of TAGA the community continues to blossom with this facility at its center. Although we “stand on the shoulders of giants” as designers and administrators in the context of this project’s legacy, strives to help its modern community and school grow their own unique identity with a strong and responsive design solution.

TAGA provides classroom and laboratory spaces that backdrop a cherished STE(A)M program. The second level of the building is designed to enhance these programs by directly linking STEM and Tinker Labs, Flight Simulator Lab, Art, Band and Media Center with open collaborative spaces to facilitate shared interactions among teachers and students. The multi-story lobby displays the rich history of the revered Tuskegee Airmen. Outdoor Lab Spaces also provide additional creative, and flexible learning environments.