Auburn High School | Auburn, MA
Performing Arts Facility
The new Auburn High School is located adjacent to athletic fields, a 200-foot environmental buffer, and a noisy interstate highway. Beyond these physical challenges, the school community possessed a strong desire to transform an academic culture already fractured by a poorly planned existing high school into one with strong community focus.
The architectural solution arranges large core functions, including the gymnasium and auditorium, in a rectilinear bar running parallel to the interstate highway. Shielded from the roadway by this buffer, the classrooms are arrayed in a broad arc overlooking the play fields. An intriguing, light-filled, three-story atrium emerges amidst the arc and bar. This dynamic space is a multi-level, singular meeting and circulation area that connects all spaces physically and visually within the building. It embodies the strong sense of community at Auburn High School.
High-performance building components include terra cotta tile cladding over a rain-screen exterior wall. Day-lighting principles included photo sensors that regulate artificial light and exterior sun-
shades that minimize solar gain and glare.
