CQA Charter School serves the multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual communities of Elmhurst, Corona, and Woodside in New York City. By occupying vacant space originally intended for retail, CQA’s new home is located inside a massive, 35,000-square-foot floor plate, much of which lacks exterior windows. As natural light is fundamental for enhancing daily learning, grade classrooms are positioned along the perimeter of the large wedge-shaped floorplate. The campus is then ordered into a series of villages, made up of clusters of classrooms and Commons—spaces for larger community gatherings and structured and unstructured group learning.