Marwen is a non-profit foundation that provides free art instruction and counseling to under-served high school students. Renovating two floors of a heavy-timber manufacturing building on a restricted budget of $30 per square foot, the team created a kind of design alchemy intended to inspire a future generation of artists, designers, and architects. The raw space became a nurturing environment for the teenagers it serves. The jury appreciated the judicious subtraction of elements that restored the building’s essential character, and they admired the insertion of a very elegant stair at the heart of the space.