Detroit Prep , the free public charter elementary school on Detroit’s East Side, has seen its ups and downs. But this renovated school building, formerly Anna Joyce Elementary (designed in 1916 by Wirt Rowland), hints at a brighter future for the community’s next generation.

Before: The Wirt Rowland–designed building (he was a leader in reimagining elementary school design in the early 20th century). Three of his buildings, some of the most notable in Detroit, are still standing.

After: The 43,500-square-foot space has 21 classrooms, a kitchen, a cafeteria, and a gathering/performance area.

When cofounder Kyle Smitley first came across the building in 2017, it had been boarded up for a decade. Inside it was completely dark and two or three feet of peeling paint strips covered the floors, “making it difficult to realize that the flooring was even wood,” recalls John Waller, managing director of Gensler Detroit.

“It had good bones but was in bad shape, and Kyle kept telling the design team it had potential,” adds John. “We all just had to realize it.”

Before: Kyle bought the building in June 2017, but Detroit Public Schools, the former owner, had placed a deed on it stating that it could never be used as a school again. Kyle ended up closing on the financial deal in November 2018 after suing the school system in a “nightmare of a year,” she says.

After: The freshened-up Detroit Prep, a free public charter school serving kindergarten through fourth-grade students.

After: “A lot of times elementary school design can be heavy-handed, but we wanted something light and refined that supported the history of the building,” says John.