On the shores of Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, a striking triangular structure has quietly taken shape — one that is rethinking how schools can be built, powered, and protected in climate-vulnerable regions. Backed by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the project brings together cutting-edge architecture, renewable energy, and a bold vision for the future of education.
Through the XQ Institute, part of Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective, the new facility — known as the Oceana Innovation Hub — opened in June 2025. Designed in collaboration with AMMA Studio and architects Débora Mesa and Antón García-Abril of Ensamble Studio, the building is the first completed structure in a modular school system intended for Barbados and beyond.
View Barbados Luxury Properties for Sale
Built Abroad, Assembled on the Beach
The school’s journey began not in the Caribbean but in an industrial warehouse in Pinto, near Madrid. There, the entire structure was prefabricated using mass-timber classroom modules developed with WoHo Systems. Once completed, the components were shipped across the Atlantic in standard containers and assembled on site in Barbados in roughly ten months.
Spanning 7,075 square feet and built at a cost of nearly US$6 million, the project has drawn praise from students, educators, and government leaders alike. Prime Minister Mia Mottley has described it as a model for future development in Barbados, even suggesting the triangular modules could one day be stacked into residential towers to help fund additional schools.
Designed for the Caribbean Climate
Each classroom takes the form of an equilateral triangle, eleven metres per side and rising two storeys high. The shape is more than aesthetic. Inspired by Barbados’ traditional chattel houses, the steep pyramidal roof sheds wind and rain, helping the building withstand extreme weather and function as a safe haven during major hurricanes.
The structure is engineered to cope with humidity, high winds, and termites, using Spanish timber at a time when local timber use in Barbados is tightly restricted due to historic deforestation. The building rests on simple flat slabs, allowing the system to be deployed quickly in different locations — a school that can be built in Europe and assembled directly on a Caribbean shoreline.
View Barbados Luxury Properties for Sale
Zero-Carbon, Self-Cooling, and Powered by Nature
The Oceana Innovation Hub operates as a zero-energy, zero-carbon facility. Solar and wind power supply its energy needs, while passive cooling strategies and natural ventilation eliminate the need for conventional air-conditioning. Pyramidal skylights flood the interior with daylight, reducing energy demand while creating bright, open learning spaces.
Inside, the design is deliberately stripped back. Exposed mass-timber frames and uncluttered volumes define the space, giving it a calm, precise feel that many have likened to the clarity of an Apple Store. There are no fixed rows of desks. Instead, students use modular, triangular furniture that can be reconfigured in minutes, shifting from small group discussions to larger presentation settings as needed.
More Than a School
Beyond daily learning, the Oceana Innovation Hub functions as a community and research centre focused on ocean literacy, marine ecosystems, and sustainable development. It supports public programming, student research, and entrepreneurial initiatives linked to Barbados’ Blue and Green Economies, bringing together locals, visitors, and experts in a shared space.
The Bridgetown campus is the first phase of a planned three-campus system that XQ and Barbados aim to expand nationally and eventually replicate globally. For other hurricane-prone regions watching closely, the project offers a powerful example of how education infrastructure can be resilient, sustainable, and inspiring all at once.
Quietly and without spectacle, the school stands as proof that thoughtful design — paired with long-term vision — can overcome geography, climate risk, and convention, setting a new benchmark for what schools in the 21st century can be.
View all of our Properties for Sale in Barbados
