The new Martin Middle School will be Ai3’s second major school project in the City of East Providence. The new 164,443sf middle school will be a state-of-the-art facility, incorporating hands-on-learning spaces seamlessly embedded into the academic core for middle school children. The original performance theater and gymnasium, which occupy 35,157sf of the existing building, are in very good condition and will remain in place while the new school wraps around the existing programs. The East Providence School District has spent many years evaluating a plan to consolidate and expand their pre-kindergarten offerings for families in East Providence. The design will incorporate a new early childhood learning center containing 16 pre-kindergarten classrooms and support space as part of the middle school project. The middle school and pre-kindergarten faculty and staff are excited about the opportunities to involve middle school students in the pre-kindergarteners’ school day. To promote this interaction, the design calls for shared administration support spaces for pre-kindergarten and middle school students, shared access to the student commons and library media center, and an innovative indoor playground for middle school and pre-kindergarten students.