The long-awaited redesign plan for Dunbar High School was unveiled this morning — and, at the risk of sounding eager, it looks, well, spectacular. The school has been in the news quite a bit recently for negative reasons and has been a bit of an eyesore for some time — but many are pinning their hopes on a redesign of the school as the way of turning that reputation around. They likely won’t be disappointed with what’s in store.

The existing building, the backstory of which DCist weekend editor Catherine Finn outlined recently, has been roundly criticized as an educational “prison.” These plans would change that. The new building, scheduled to open at the start of the 2013-14 academic year, will feature a campus-like setting with lots of natural light and open spaces. A team from Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects-Engineers and Moody-Nolan Architects, the designers of the building, leaned heavily on Dunbar’s original 1917 design and mission, which is a nice touch. There’s a shiny new media room, gymnasium and pool in the plans. Additionally, the footprint of the school would reopen O Street NW between First Street and New Jersey Avenue — currently the road “cuts” through the center of the high school.