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or Spectrum Charter School, the need for a new space was clear. After years in the basement of a church, the school had outgrown its surroundings and needed a space that could better support its students, teachers, and growing community.
Spectrum Charter School is a tuition-free, public charter school in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. As the first autism-specific charter school in the United States, Spectrum is designed to meet the needs of students who may not learn well in traditional classroom settings due to cognitive, communication, and sensory challenges, including students with autism spectrum disorders.
Creating an environment that supports those needs was an important part of the project. The new space needed to provide room to grow while giving teachers the flexibility to create classrooms that work for their students.
Through its developer, Sigal Development, Spectrum was introduced to DIRTT and the possibilities of prefabricated construction. With an aggressive timeline and a large scope of work, the project called for a solution that could deliver both speed and quality.
"Workscape and DIRTT's ability to coordinate with the design team, early in the process, allowed us to meet the school's aggressive schedule,” said Emma Yingling of Sigal Development. “DIRTT's team remained a committed partner from start to finish, delivering a space that fits the needs of the Spectrum's educators and staff."
Workscape helped bring the new space to life with a combination of solid walls, glass fronts, and custom casework. The final scope included:
- 1,137 linear feet of DIRTT wall
- 336 linear feet of casework
- 21 days of installation
Despite the size of the project and the compressed schedule,the finished space feels anything but rushed.
One of the most distinctive parts of the project is its color. Spectrum’s rainbow-inspired palette was carried throughout the space, creating an environment that feels bright, welcoming, and distinctly theirs. DIRTT allowed the team to achieve the desired colors while maintaining a high level of finish and quality.
The classrooms were also customized with the teachers in mind. Each teacher was given the opportunity to have a classroom tailored to their needs, with custom layouts and color selections that made the spaces feel personal and functional.
The result is a school environment designed around the people who use it every day. After moving out of a space they had long outgrown, Spectrum Charter School now has a colorful, flexible home that better reflects its students, teachers, and the energy of the school community.
For Workscape, it was a great example of what is possible when an ambitious timeline, thoughtful design, and the right construction system come together.
