South Lawrence East School | Lawrence, MA

Middle School

The South Lawrence East School is designed to take maximum advantage of a difficult site, to accommodate the program and complicated circulation required of a PreK-8 curriculum for a large, multi-cultural student population of 1,480 students, and to provide space for community use. In addition, the facility is designed to envision a beacon asserting the resurgence of the down-trodden City of Lawrence and to serve as a symbol of the city’s dedication to providing a quality education for its children.

The 215,000 square foot facility is configured with a three-story education wing connected to a community wing by a two-story ramped gallery displaying the flags from nations of many of its students origins. The shared core space includes a cafeteria, music appreciation room, instructional media center, two arts rooms, two home arts rooms, two technical education rooms, four computer labs, and 15 special education and remedial/bilingual rooms, and the community wing with a gymnasium, activity room, and 350-seat performance theater.

Due to the large student population and to control circulation both inside and outside the school, the site is carefully organized to separate students, teachers, and visitor access and to provide appropriate safety and security. Site amenities include two baseball diamonds, a soccer field, a playground, tennis courts that can be use for ice skating in the winter, a mile-long lighted walking track, and a secured parking area for teachers and visitors.

The overall form and massing of the facility recalls the late 19th century industrial buildings and mills that once formed the core of the city. The roof lines and red bricks replicate the lines of the mills; the 50-foot clock tower that overshadows the school’s entrance, symbolizes the civic attitude of the new facility. The columns and the detailing of beige and red brick stepped pattern facades expressed as three-story “houses” work to diminish the building mass and scale to fit the residential scale of the school’s immediate neighborhood.

Classrooms are clustered in groups of four, each with a small instructional room for special education. All classrooms are equpped with six computer stations plus an instructor’s PC, and build-in counters, sinks, tackboards and marker boards. Multi-media technology infrastructure features a TV production room, a cable television system with its own cable channel, and cutting-edge audio visual equipment.

Awards:
Honorable Mention, American School & University Magazine, Architectural Portfolio
Citation of Excellence, Learning By Design Magazine, American School Board Journal