View into the plaza between school and Orpheum Theatre from the old Board of Education building. The plaza is a shared space between the school community and the public. Cristina Greavu.

A group of students from the Graduate School of Architecture and Design at Washington University showed off their thesis projects last month at a public forum in the community space on North Market Street in Old North St. Louis.

The program, styled “Reconsidering Saint Louis,” presented a sparkling collection of concepts for reusing space and structures throughout the metropolitan area.

One project proposed a research hub and terminal market at the old National City Stockyards for sustainable and organic foods. Another described how the U.S. Steel-Granite City Works could be transformed into a research center for efficient steel production. A third explained how a rail yard near the riverfront might become a rolling arts district using rail cars as studio space.

These ideas are theoretical and academic. So, at one time, were skyscrapers and iPods. But it is from ideas like this, and young scholars like this, that the future is born.

Among the students who exhibited their work was Cristina Greavu. She’s from Romania and came to the United States to attend Wellesley College and then Washington University, where she recently received masters’ degrees in architecture and urban design.

Ms. Greavu designed an elementary school downtown. The school would revolve around families with parents who work in the central business district. It would operate on a business clock, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so parents could bring their children to school on the way to work and more readily break away to participate in school-day happenings.

She envisions an ideal site at the recently renovated public plaza to the north of the Old Post Office off Locust Street, at the heart of downtown. Sublime spaces, facilities and public institutions are at the front door or within walking distance. Broad southern exposure ensures classrooms are illuminated with natural light.

The school design — a four-story, 45,000-square-foot steel structure — would provide a safe environment for students and promote maximum interaction between the city and its children. The building’s exterior finishes are modest, clean and plain. They don’t compete with surrounding structures and make easily visible what is taking place inside the school and out.

School curricula and its educational approach would be influenced by the Reggio Emilia philosophy — a focus on hands-on parental and community support, and using the nearby surroundings as “third teachers.”

Ms. Greavu is moving to an architectural firm in New York City that does work for educational institutions.

She will spend a year there before returning to Romania. Her ambition is to find ways to “engage with traditionally disadvantaged populations.” She sees design work that involves schools as “a step in the direction of social responsibility.”

She emphasized that students benefit from being placed “in the middle of things.” But the benefits would flow outward as well. The central city’s fabric and vibrancy would be strengthened and enriched just as much by their presence.

Before Ms. Greavu leaves, Mayor Francis Slay should buy her lunch.