By Shannon Sturgis The courtyard of the YMCA building in downtown Little Rock.

LITTLE ROCK — If the word "school" brings to mind a stuffy old classroom with rows of desks lined out in front of a blackboard or a series of semesters that yield only an expensive piece of paper, then it's probably not the right word for what organizers Kenny Grand and Adam Britt, along with all their partners and volunteers, want to build in downtown Little Rock.

But school is the word they use; "free school" to be more precise.

"It's like a countercultural hub," said Grand, who described how the idea only started evolving in a conversation he had with Britt about a month ago. "It's a safe place where people can go and have fun or for intellectual development or to get involved."

What exactly does that entail? At this point, the ideas are all over the place, and include everything from rooms for lectures, seminars or classes to a pool, recording studio and darkroom. An in-house press would produce everything from viral videos to topical zines, as well as help bring like-minded people and grassroots organizations together. There's even talk of off-site sustainable gardening programs for urban or low-income settings.

"Lots of that stuff exists, but it's so expensive it's ... not accessible to anyone who needs it," Grand said.

The school would be, said Grand, an educational cooperative unlike anything Arkansas has seen in the last 50 years at least. Envisioned as volunteer-driven, the school would offer courses or programming - or just a space for either - based largely on what outside groups or organizations can bring to the table. To get instruction or use recording studio space might have a charge, he said, but might be free if in-kind volunteerism, like tutoring children or cooking a meal, can be offered instead.

"It can be truly free if you want it to be free," said Britt of the vision.

Grand said the planned model is to utilize funding sources like grants and donations to cover the basic overhead - that is, to keep the lights on - but that programming itself would be self-supportive.

As for where it's all going down, the pair said right now they've got their eyes on the old YMCA building at Sixth Street and Broadway. Though long abandoned and in need of considerable rehabilitation, the four-story, 43,000-square-foot building would be ideal for what they envision, Grand and Britt said.

"It was made for this," said Britt, who admitted to being "obsessed" with the building for years. "The only thing that would fit better would be a YMCA."

The building, built in 1928 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, would offer an opportunity for historical rehabilitation grants, and Grand said they've already had offers of help from professionals. For example, certified electricians have agreed to not only help with the wiring, but to teach them how to do it themselves.

And the DIY theme fits with the vision of what the facility will be all about, even if the YMCA building doesn't work out, said Grand. Already running a bike kitchen where cyclists pay for repairs or learn how to fix things on their own for free, Grand said the model of the school will "propagate the DIY culture" on a larger scale.

By Shannon Sturgis The old basketball court in the YMCA building downtown.

As for a timetable, the pair said the plan is to build on existing programs - like the bike kitchen, a food distribution effort, and a reading group - and have those elements in place even before the building comes. A Web site is in the works, again thanks to volunteers. Seeking a fiscal sponsor for the time being, they will operate under the umbrella of an existing nonprofit before incorporating on their own. That'll happen when it needs to, Grand said.

"Lots of organizations are offering help from all over the place," said Britt. "And that help comes in all sorts of forms," he added, noting anything from direct monetary contributions to assistance in putting grant requests together.

In the meantime, organizational meetings on Mondays at 8 p.m., usually at the Arkansas Sustainability Network office on Main Street, are helping iron out details and figure out what's next. So far, the momentum has been strong.

"Because of the space and what we're doing, we're getting interest from all over the board," said Britt.