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Nauset Regional Middle School |
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Nauset Regional Middle School,
Orleans, MA
The original school, a historic 1930s Georgian-style brick structure, had been modified in the 1950s with a steel-and-glass facade. We* were asked to remodel and expand the building to make it more responsive to contemporary student and faculty needs. The result is an integrated educational "village" that respects the different perspectives of children and grown-ups. Adults enter the school through the formal entrance, part of the historic structure. Children have their own entrance adjacent to the bus stop; here, a fairytale tower welcomes them into a courtyard containing scaled-down forms. The tower isn't just ornamental: inside, it's a friendly hangout where kids can gather and talk.
Although the school/project was crafted with solid brick walls and copper and slate roofing, it was completed for $1 million under budget--proving that high-quality materials and hand-craftsmanship, and the beauty and vitality they represent, can be realistic goals for modern public architecture.
The school received the 1994 Association of School Building Officials' Certificate of Excellence. Judges' comments included:
"The architecture is blended beautifully with the existing facility."
"Beautiful use of materials on the exterior and playfulness on the interior, which is commensurate with the middle-school level."
"An absolutely beautiful auditorium. An extremely sympathetic architecture that is quite compatible with the old without copying it."
*Todd Jersey designed this building while he was working in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, offices of HMFH, which is the architect of record for the project.
Click thumbnails to view project photos.
[ For larger views, click here. ]
