Event Description

Please join members of the design team from HMFH Architects for a tour of the new Arlington High School. The new school is home to 1,755 students in grades 9-12. This all-electric facility supports interdisciplinary learning, community programs and the town's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The new building is located on the existing school site in the footprint of the existing school and was constructed in four complex phases spanning 5 years and while students occupy the building.

A central spine connects the new school’s tree-lined entrance on Massachusetts Avenue to the lower entrance, which serves the athletic fields, parking, and bikeway. Four wings—STEAM, humanities, performing arts, and athletics—plug into the spine and contain flexible classrooms, science labs, teacher planning areas, independent and project-based learning nooks, and maker and art spaces. As it moves through the building, the central spine serves as the lobby for each of the main public venues—the 800-seat auditorium, black box theater and gymnasiums—then becomes a public forum and informal social space as it cascades down into the cafeteria and lower entrance.

The natural environment is woven into the learning environment through views, daylighting, and access to the outdoors. A central courtyard and outdoor amphitheater connect students to the surrounding environment and provide opportunities for outdoor learning.

Presenters

Lori Cowles, AIA, LEED | Principal, HMFH

Stephanie MacNeil, AIA, LEED | Associate, HMFH

Arthur Duffy, AIA, LEED | Senior Associate, HMFH

Topic

Advancing Architecture