SOM create ‘school of the future’ for leading educational public charter network

Tenderstream member Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is celebrating the opening of the new Bronx K–12 Campus, a ground-up, purpose-built school building for Success Academy (SA). Designed as a “school of the future,” the 310,000 sq ft campus brings elementary, middle, and high school together in a unified enterprise to support schooling innovation, deliver college preparedness, and demonstrate a new K–12 model of educational excellence.

SA is one of the nation’s largest and highest-performing public charter networks, which educates 22,000 students, primarily children of colour from low-income backgrounds, across 60 New York City schools. For nine consecutive years, 100% of SA’s graduates have been accepted to four-year colleges, many to highly selective institutions. The new campus, located in the South Bronx, will serve 2,400 scholars each year with the goal of educating some of New York City’s poorest children with the highest levels of excellence in public education. 

The facade reinterprets the classic brick schoolhouse through contemporary design, while the building’s massing varies in height to respond to the context and scale of the site. The high school occupies the lower levels, with middle and elementary grades above, each accessed through distinct, landscaped ground-floor entrances. This stacked arrangement admits daylight deep into the interior and creates multiple rooftop terraces for outdoor learning and play. 

At the centre of the design is the “scholar spine,” a multilevel corridor that runs the full length of the building. Part gallery, part collaboration hub, it features breakout alcoves, flexible workspaces, and writable surfaces that showcase student work and support interdisciplinary learning. To support a holistic education, the building offers a range of specialized environments: lecture halls, dance studios, a 300-seat auditorium, futsal court, gymnasium, and more. These spaces mirror collegiate and professional settings, encouraging scholars to explore beyond traditional classrooms.

“The South Bronx campus shows what is possible when innovative design is harnessed to advance a bold educational mission,” said SOM partner Colin Koop. “The team was asked to design a ‘school of the future’ that would define a new model of K–12 educational excellence. This project delivers on that opportunity by reconsidering how architecture can support a culture of mentorship, community, arts, athletics, and college preparedness.”

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

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