The Epic Academy receives outdoor spaces, uses it for school and community
BY TIA CAROL JONES
The Epic Academy High School, located at 8255 S. Houston, received an outdoor learning lab as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.
Epic Academy was founded in 2009 by Matthew King. It started with a freshman class and grew from there. Currently there are 500 students that attend the school.
Epic was chosen because one of the school’s board members is a partner at Skidmore, Owens and Merrill, the design team that created the pavilion out of spatial laminated timber. The pavilion will be a permanent addition to the school’s campus.
The theme for the 2021 edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial is “The Available City.” It included activations at vacant lots, decommissioned schools, storefronts and community gardens in North Lawndale, Woodlawn, Bronzeville, Pilsen, South Loop, Loop, South Shore, Englewood and Edgewater.
On Saturday, Oct. 9, a Back Alley Jazz performance, featuring Thaddeus Tukes, took place at the pavilion. When LeeAndra Khan, the executive director of Epic, was asked if the school wanted to be a host site for the pavilion, she said yes.
Post pandemic, the leaders at Epic have been speaking about how to utilize space better at schools. Epic has actually grown out of its current space. Khan’s task when she arrived in 2020 was to find a bigger space for the school.
“Part of this was an opportunity for us to reimagine spaces. We’ve engaged the students and teachers and we’re about to start engaging families on what a new school site could and should look like, and what kind of spaces it should have. So, this is kind of a step in that direction of reimagining the environment the students learn in,” Khan said.
Epic is trying to acquire the St. Michael’s site, located at 8231 S. South Shore Drive, tear it down, and rebuild a bigger space there. The goal is not to change neighborhoods or the demographics of the students who attend the school. About 60% of Epic’s students live in the 60617-zip code where the school is located.
Khan and another leader at the school are researching ways to utilize the outdoor space for engagements, given it can only be used between August-November and March-June, because of Chicago’s winter weather. Khan said there is research about the benefits of outdoor learning.
A master drummer, along with the drum line from Chicago State University, used the space on Saturday, Oct. 2. Students and community members learned how to drum and play rhythms.
“It was a beautiful experience because the community was involved. There wasn’t this separation between school and community. The space is supposed to be used in that way. So, I think in a city like Chicago, where communities are disjointed, an outdoor learning space brings the community to the school in a way other spaces inside the school can’t,” Khan said.
The Chicago Architecture Biennial will be taking place until Saturday, Dec. 18. For more information, visit https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial. org.
For more information about Epic Academy High School, visit www.epicacademy. org.
