To offset a declining population and reinvigorate its town center, Gloggnitz, a small city 40 miles south of Vienna in the foothills of the Alps, decided to invest in a new school complex. The facility would replace the aging primary, middle, and special-needs schools. Most importantly, it would be a welcoming venue for activities and instruction for adults and children after school hours, strengthening a sense of community. The design therefore would require a new way of thinking about educational infrastructure: “Let’s get rid of the old image of a school and make something new out of this,” says Dietmar Feichtinger, founder of the eponymous architecture firm based in Montreuil, France, selected for the project in 2015 as the result of an invited competition.