WHIN’s main learning tool is the musical ensemble. The theater—the school’s core and unique program—is central to the design, physically and symbolically. Visible from both the lobby and the street, it forms a connection among students, teachers, parents, and the neighborhood they inhabit. The 330-seat concert hall occupies almost the entire first floor of what used to be a parking garage. Instead of the typical arrangement, with public access at the front and the stage at the back, WHIN’s concert hall layout is rotated: the stage abuts next to the school’s lobby, bringing performances and rehearsals closer to the street and the community it serves.

If the interior experience is layered to reflect WHIN’s identity, the exterior establishes an institutional presence in the otherwise residential street. Reusing the original brick building made it necessary to establish punched openings as the basic module for the façade. From outside, the design of the metal siding, using three different profiles, nods to the musical staves of a conductor’s score. Lower-grade classrooms are located on the lower levels with eighth grade classrooms at the top, just below the gym. The rhythm of windows reflects this academic progression: kids on the first floor learn the fundamentals of music, so the window variation is minimal in their classrooms. As their musical mastery increases, the windows in the top-story classrooms become more animated. Seven scores of bright yellow syncopated frames compose this architectural composition. A special moment within the residential block.