Oceana Innovation Hub
Our collaboration with the Barbados Ministry of Educational Transformation and XQ Institute was born from an urgent question: How do we design a school that prepares students for the future in the midst of a climate crisis? Our challenge was to create a classroom model that could be rapidly deployed to host forward-thinking, project-based learning pedagogy in a space both rooted in the natural environment and resilient to tropical storms. AMMA and its project partners responded not with a single building, but with a replicable, modular system crafted from carbon-sequestering mass timber and designed for adaptability across the island of Barbados, and globally.
The first of a three-campus vision, the Oceana Innovation Hub gives students direct experience with the most pressing issues they face. Commissioned by the XQ Institute, chaired by Laurene Powell Jobs and Russlyn Ali, the project reflects a bold commitment to reimagining education at a systems level. XQ is positioned to catalyze global transformation, and this inaugural project, developed and delivered in a rapid 10 month timeline in collaboration with visionary Prime Minister Mia Mottley, underscores the catalytic potential of this project at the center of a broader movement for systemic change. With its proximity to Carlisle Bay, a calm inlet known for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving, the facility becomes a hub where students, locals, and visitors engage with the sustainable use of ocean resources and marine ecosystems. Workshops, citizen science initiatives, design labs, and immersive exhibitions will connect schools across the island to real-world environmental challenges, while also supporting research, public programming, and entrepreneurial development tied to Barbados' Blue and Green Economies.
Rooted in a triangular module, the architecture itself extends XQ's project-based learning pedagogy into spatial form while grounding the building in structural resilience. The CLT pyramidal roof was designed around this triangular geometry as the strongest form to withstand hurricane-force winds, making the module not only symbolic of adaptability but essential to survival in a changing climate. When combined or separated, these modules unfold into rhomboid and trapezoidal classrooms that support the full spectrum of learning, from deep individual study and collaborative research to public presentation and exhibition. The building is clad in louvered accordion shutters and topped with operable skylights that harness prevailing ocean breezes, vent hot air, and modulate the near-constant Caribbean sun, creating shaded, comfortable interiors while significantly reducing energy loads.
The triangular module also borrows from Barbadian chattel house geometry, using passive ventilation, steep roofs, and natural materials to connect students to climate and place while minimizing energy use and embodied carbon. Inside, the furnishings extend the modular logic of the architecture with distinctly Bajan materials, colors, and patterns from local artisans. Triangular in form and multipostural in use, the pieces allow students and teachers to continuously reconfigure their learning environment, from intimate clusters to expansive presentation settings.
Future campuses at Chelston Park, which will be complete in 2026, and the historic Convent School will scale this model locally, while its modular kit-of-parts opens doors to replication globally. The Oceana Innovation Hub is a platform for educational transformation, where structure and pedagogy converge to cultivate a generation prepared not just to survive climate change, but to lead in innovation and develop a new and vibrant workforce for the future.
Project InfoYear: 2023
Location: St. Michael, Barbados
Typology: School
Client TeamXQ Institute
Barbados Ministry of Education & Ministry of Educational Transformation
Design LeadAMMA
Design & Construction TeamWoHo
OJT
Joseph Steinbok Management
Moorjani Caribbean
CollaboratorsAnimal Name Design, Archis, Bain, Baird, BCQS, Chris Terrill, Design Landscape Architects (DLA), EHDD, EMC, Haigh Communications, Kevin Lewis, Mahy Ridley Hazzard, Marlon Darbeau, NOUS Engineering, RDL, Rupert Piggot, Rysel McLean, Sandy Layne, Sasaki, SOSHL Studio, Studio Amor, TAP Studio, Transsolar, XQ Institute, Yes Praxes