Over the past decade, PUBLIC47 has helped Eastside Preparatory School transform a 1980s office park into a student-centered campus where faculty and learners move easily between light-filled spaces designed for connection, collaboration, and growth.

What began as a handful of low-rise office suites—dentist chairs and cubicles included—is now a cohesive educational environment designed for grades 5 through 12. Working within the constraints of an outdated office park and a planned unit development, PUBLIC47 and EPS have steadily reimagined the site through a series of projects that reflect the school’s values of creativity and community.

It began in 2015 with The Macaluso Academic Collaborative (TMAC), a 30,000 SF hub introducing science labs, digital fabrication spaces, an amphitheater, and a gym—establishing a new design language for the campus.

TALI Hall (named for the school’s “Think-Act-Lead-Innovate” motto) followed in 2018. The building added 96,000 SF of performing arts and academic space anchored by a highly flexible theater, plus a central plaza that turned a 12-foot grade change into a vibrant pedestrian commons.

Subsequent projects have included a middle school addition designed for high performance and daylight optimization, and a dining hall transformation that reimagined mealtimes as moments of connection across grade levels.

Ten years in, Eastside Prep offers a model for how underutilized office parks, common across the US, can be reclaimed for education. The campus now functions as a walkable, adaptable environment that reflects the school’s pedagogy while making efficient use of limited land. Looking forward, EPS continues to acquire adjacent buildings as opportunities arise, always with an eye on how each piece fits into the whole.

Design: PUBLIC47 Architects
Design Team: Jeff Boone, Jon Kwon, Steven Jackson, Jonathan Zegers
Contractor: Schuchart Construction, Valor Builds
Photography: Lara Swimmer