Zimmerman was engaged in collaborating with Medical College staff, students and administration to develop new space concepts to support the institution’s proposed “Discovery Curriculum” graduate-level health sciences and medical education. Compared to traditional education delivery methods, Discovery Curriculum shifted the educational focus from passive (lecture hall and classroom-based learning) to active (interactive and collaborative and hands-on large and small group environments) to deepen each students understanding of content. The project integrates new technology and tools to facilitate advanced individual and team learning.

To accommodate this changing educational paradigm, Zimmerman led a series of interior remodeling and renovation projects throughout the campus to create additional informal student collaboration opportunities, including five primary areas of focus: 

1. Learning Skills Classrooms (15) – small, flexible learning environments to accommodate a variety of teaching and learning styles;

2. Discovery Classroom – a formerly underutilized 6,000 sq. ft. library space that was renovated to accommodate large group space for as many as 240 students in an active learning environment;

3. Form and Function Lab – 7,575 sq. ft. of renovated open lab space with movable partitions to facilitate one large or three individual lab environments.  The space houses more than 40 human cadaver humidors for anatomical-based research and has specific task lighting and various physical accommodations required by the science; 

4. Form and Function Classroom – this highly flexible space accommodates individual, small group and large group learning and features built-in lab casework and a direct connection to the form and function lab space;

5. Various interior remodeling and renovation projects involving previously underutilized spaces throughout the main campus designed to foster small group interactions, student collaboration and independent study.