"Bridges and Briya Public Charter Schools were awarded the Mamie D. Lee Campus, an underutilized Washington DC Public School building and grounds for redevelopment...Bridges Public Charter School started with a Head of School who was tired of schools where children with high level special needs were completely separated from children that had no level of special needs. She envisioned a school where everyone felt like equals, and now Bridges specializes in providing all-inclusive learning programs and environments for “special-needs” children....Briya started in the 1980s in response to the influx of immigrants creating a place to learn English, and build, higher-level skills so that they could be better employed. This program evolved into the Briya Public Charter School which is a school that specializes in adult education along with infant and toddler care."

"Mary’s Center is a federally qualified health center that provides health care, family literacy and social services to individuals whose needs too often go unmet by the private systems. Mary’s Center Community Health Center provides counseling and medical service to their families as well as the surrounding community."

"Collectively, their vision is to create a site with wraparound services for children and families with a focus of those with special needs. Their campus partnering realizes this vision of providing a full spectrum of education programming from infant and toddler to adults."

"“Interlacing” of the two schools, and the supplemental lease space provides for possible expansion and contraction of the programs. The programs thread together lacing laterally within the floor plates, such that as one program may need more, or swing spaces, the classrooms could be shared or time staggered if they must."

"The school has multiple access points via public transportation, and the new “U” shaped layout has responded to these access points with the use of bridges, stairs, ramps, pathways, and landscaping. Any user group – whether walking or on a wheel chair – can access the site and the school at its North, East, South, and West entryways..."

"The smooth and continuous surfaced green roof was important to the design team, yet to achieve the buildings fresh air requirements, intakes with heat recovery units were to be placed on the roof. During the early design process, the engineering and architectural team worked in close tandem to establish sizes, clearances, structural loads to balance design intent with functional needs. A recessed mechanical penthouse was carved into the roof, and vine laden cables were devised as a means of creating a continuous flow of green surface, while also providing appropriate ventilation openings for the mechanical systems."

"As a learning tool, the two charter schools are collaborating to have their student’s aid in the planting and maintenance of the landscape. A school education garden is currently under construction to provide supplemental student expense with farm to table food production."​

"At project kick-off, a team comprising Bridges and Briya school leaders, financier, project manager, architects, and the general contractor participated in the Learning Environments For Tomorrow (LEFT) Institute. LEFT is four-day, invitation-only event for K-12 school construction project teams sponsored by the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Graduate School of Design. "