Dan & Cassidy Towriss IDEA Space – Barstow School

Taking what was once a grocery store and converting it into a STEAM incubation hub, the Barstow School’s new IDEA Space provides an additional educational resource to the surrounding community. Serving kindergarten through grade 12, the program will focuses on four key workforce development areas including skilled trades, engineering, advanced manufacturing, and computer science.


30,000 SF of the project is remodeled space consisting of an entry way commons area, makerspace, innovation space, technology laboratory, fabrication and prototyping spaces, traditional and general flex classrooms, and ancillary restrooms. The remaining 30,000 SF was designed as a warm shell and for future expansion, giving the project a grand total of 60,000 SF.


Henderson Engineers provided building systems design for both the fit-out for the IDEA space as well as the warm shell. The building’s existing rooftop units (RTU) were replaced with new packaged DX/gas heat VAV and gas heat RTUs with VAV zone control and incorporated plans for future expansion spaces to utilize the units as well. In the IDEA space, television distribution systems are utilized throughout in addition to flat panel displays within the classrooms and project capabilities in the commons.