The angled walls of Bronx Community Charter reflect the school’s unconventional approach.

Instead of classes squeezed into every corner, there is a large common area filled with benches for sitting and sharing. An open central staircase connects its two floors. The overhead plumbing and light fixtures are exposed, providing a teachable moment: Students study the building.

As a rent-paying school, Bronx Community Charter may also offer a lesson to many New York City charter schools if the mayor-elect, Bill de Blasio, follows through on his campaign proposal that “well-resourced” charter schools pay rent.

Charter schools, which receive public funds but are independently operated, have thrived in New York in the last dozen years — in no small measure because the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has provided them with space and other resources. Currently, 114 of the city’s 183 charter schools are housed rent-free in public school buildings, according to the Education Department.

But Bronx Community Charter spends $781,000 annually on rent, or nearly 15 percent of its $5.3 million budget.